Stereotype Threat Overview
STEREOTYPE THREAT: AN OVERVIEW
EXCERPTS AND ADAPTATIONS FROM REDUCING STEREOTYPE THREAT.ORG
By Steve Stroessner and Catherine Good Reprinted and adapted with permission. Adapted by R. Rhys
Over 300 experiments on stereotype threat have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Learn more at http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/
Consequences of stereotype threat can contribute to educational and social inequality of some groups including ethnic minorities in academic environments and women in math. Just a few negative outcomes are: • limiting domains of study students wish to pursue; • not valuing an area of study (Aronson, Fried, & Good 2002; Osborne, 1995; Steele, 1997); and • narrowing students’ career options. The purpose of this article is to provide a summary and overview of published research on stereotype threat. It contains highlights from the reducingstereotypethreat.org web site by Stroessner and Good. You are strongly encouraged to visit this site for a more comprehensive review. By doing so you may increase your understanding of the phenomenon known as stereotype threat and gain strategies to reduce its occurrence and impact (Johns, Schmader, & Martens, 2005). What is stereotype threat? Stereotype threat refers to being at risk of confirming, as a self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's social group (Steele & Aronson, 1995). The term, stereotype threat, was first used by Steele and Aronson (1995) who showed in several experiments that Black college freshmen and sophomores performed more poorly on standardized tests than White students when their race was emphasized. When race was not emphasized, however, Black students performed better and equivalently with White students. The results showed that performance in academic contexts can be harmed by the awareness that one's behavior might be viewed through the lens of racial stereotypes. In general, the conditions that produce stereotype threat are ones in which a highlighted
EXCERPTS AND ADAPTATIONS FROM REDUCING STEREOTYPE THREAT.ORG
By Steve Stroessner and Catherine Good Reprinted and adapted with permission. Adapted by R. Rhys
Over 300 experiments on stereotype threat have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Learn more at http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/
Consequences of stereotype threat can contribute to educational and social inequality of some groups including ethnic minorities in academic environments and women in math. Just a few negative outcomes are: • limiting domains of study students wish to pursue; • not valuing an area of study (Aronson, Fried, & Good 2002; Osborne, 1995; Steele, 1997); and • narrowing students’ career options. The purpose of this article is to provide a summary and overview of published research on stereotype threat. It contains highlights from the reducingstereotypethreat.org web site by Stroessner and Good. You are strongly encouraged to visit this site for a more comprehensive review. By doing so you may increase your understanding of the phenomenon known as stereotype threat and gain strategies to reduce its occurrence and impact (Johns, Schmader, & Martens, 2005). What is stereotype threat? Stereotype threat refers to being at risk of confirming, as a self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's social group (Steele & Aronson, 1995). The term, stereotype threat, was first used by Steele and Aronson (1995) who showed in several experiments that Black college freshmen and sophomores performed more poorly on standardized tests than White students when their race was emphasized. When race was not emphasized, however, Black students performed better and equivalently with White students. The results showed that performance in academic contexts can be harmed by the awareness that one's behavior might be viewed through the lens of racial stereotypes. In general, the conditions that produce stereotype threat are ones in which a highlighted