28/12/2016

AboutAPA

Stereotype threat widens achievement gap

Topics

Publications&Databases

PsychologyHelpCenter

News&Events

Science

Education

Careers

Membership

StereotypeThreatWidensAchievementGap
Remindersofstereotypedinferiorityhurttestscores.

WhattheResearchShows
AgrowingbodyofstudiesundercutsconventionalassumptionsthatgeneticsorculturaldifferencesleadsomestudentssuchasAfricanAmericansorgirlstodopoorlyon
standardizedacademictestsandotheracademicperformances.Instead,it'sbecomeclearthatnegativestereotypesraiseinhibitingdoubtsandhighpressureanxietiesinatest
taker'smind,resultinginthephenomenonof"stereotypethreat."PsychologistsClaudeSteele,PhD,JoshuaAronson,PhD,andStevenSpencer,PhD,havefoundthatevenpassing
remindersthatsomeonebelongstoonegrouporanother,suchasagroupstereotypedasinferiorinacademics,canwreakhavocwithtestperformance.
Steele,AronsonandSpencer,haveexaminedhowgroupstereotypescanthreatenhowstudentsevaluatethemselves,whichthenaltersacademicidentityandintellectual
performance.Thissocialpsychologicalpredicamentcan,researchersbelieve,besetmembersofanygroupaboutwhomnegativestereotypesexist.
SteeleandAronsongaveBlackandWhitecollegestudentsahalfhourtestusingdifficultitemsfromtheverbalGraduateRecordExam(GRE).Inthestereotypethreatcondition,
theytoldstudentsthetestdiagnosedintellectualability,thuspotentiallyelicitingthestereotypethatBlacksarelessintelligentthanWhites.Inthenostereotypethreatcondition,the
researcherstoldstudentsthatthetestwasaproblemsolvinglabtaskthatsaidnothingaboutability,presumablyrenderingstereotypesirrelevant.Inthestereotypethreatcondition,
BlackswhowerematchedwithWhitesintheirgroupbySATscoresdidlesswellthanWhites.Inthenostereotypethreatconditioninwhichtheexactsametestwasdescribed
asalabtaskthatdidnotindicateabilityBlacks'performancerosetomatchthatofequallyskilledWhites.Additionalexperimentsthatminimizedthestereotypethreatendemicto
standardizedtestsalsoresultedinequalperformance.Onestudyfoundthatwhenstudentsmerelyrecordedtheirrace(presumablymakingthestereotypesalient),andwerenottold
thetestwasdiagnosticoftheirability,BlacksstillperformedworsethanWhites.
Spencer,Steele,andDianeQuinn,PhD,alsofoundthatmerelytellingwomenthatamathtestdoesnotshowgenderdifferencesimprovedtheirtestperformance.Theresearchers
gaveamathtesttomenandwomenaftertellinghalfthewomenthatthetesthadshowngenderdifferences,andtellingtherestthatitfoundnone.Whentestadministratorstold
womenthatthattestsshowednogenderdifferences,thewomenperformedequaltomen.Thosewhoweretoldthetestshowedgenderdifferencesdidsignificantlyworsethanmen,
justlikewomenwhoweretoldnothingaboutthetest.Thisexperimentwasconductedwithwomenwhoweretopperformersinmath,justastheexperimentsonracewere
conductedwithstrong,motivatedstudents.

WhattheResearchMeans
Psychologistandeducatorsare,throughthisinnovativeresearch,comingtounderstandthetruenatureofoneofthebarrierstoequaleducationalachievement.Although
psychologistssuchasSteele,AronsonandSpencerconcedethattestscoregapsprobablycan'tbetotallyattributedtostereotypethreat,thethreatappearstobesufficiently
influentialtobeheededbyteachers,students,researchers,policymakersandparents.Attheveryleast,thefindingsundercutthetendencytolaytheblameonunsupportedgenetic
andculturalfactors,suchaswhetherAfricanAmericans"value"educationorgirlscan'tdomath.
Throughcarefuldesign,thestudieshavealsoshownthesubtleandinsidiousnatureofstereotypethreat.Forexample,becausestereotypethreataffectedwomenevenwhenthe
researcherssaidthetestshowednogenderdifferencesthusstillflaggingthepossibilitysocialpsychologistsbelievethatevenmentioningastereotypeinabenigncontextcan
sensitizepeople.

HowWeUsetheResearch
Aronsonbelievesthestudyofstereotypethreatofferssome"excitingandencouraginganswerstotheseoldquestions[ofachievementgaps]bylookingatthepsychologyofstigma
thewayhumanbeingsrespondtonegativestereotypesabouttheirracialorgendergroup."Bysubtlyalteringthetestsituationtoremovestereotypethreat,Aronsonandhis
colleagueshavedemonstrateddramaticimprovementinstandardizedtestscoresamongmembersofnegativelystereotypedgroups.
SaysAronson,"Wehavefoundthatwecandoalottoboostbothachievementandtheenjoymentofschoolbyunderstandingandattendingtothesepsychologicalprocesses,
therebyunseatingthepowerofstereotypesandprejudicetofoiltheacademicaspirationsoftheyoungpeoplewho,justbyvirtueofbeingbornblack,brown,orfemale,are
subjectedtosuspicionsofinferiority."
Heisnowputtingresearchtoworkintheschools,developingpracticalmethodstoreducetheachievementgapandwritingaguidebookforeducators.Ultimately,Aronsonhopesto
createanationwidepanelofexpertstofocusonreducingstereotypethreattohelpclosetheachievementgap.Researchintostereotypethreathasalsobeencitedextensivelyin
tworecentSupremeCourtcases,andisfrequentlyreferredtobypsychologists,educators,andsocialscientistsconcernedwitheducationalequality.

Sources&FurtherReading
Aronson,J.,&Inzlicht,M.(2004).Theupsanddownsofattributionalambiguity:StereotypevulnerabilityandtheacademicselfknowledgeofAfricanAmericanstudents.
PsychologicalScience,15,829836.
Aronson,J.,Fried,C.,&Good,C.(2002).ReducingtheeffectsofstereotypethreatonAfricanAmericancollegestudentsbyshapingtheoriesofintelligence.Journalof
ExperimentalSocialPsychology,38,113125.
Good,C.,Aronson,J.,&Inzlicht,M.(2003).Improvingadolescents'standardizedtestperformance:Aninterventiontoreducetheeffectsofstereotypethreat.JournalofApplied
DevelopmentalPsychology,24,645662.
Spencer,S.J.,Steele,C.M.,&Quinn,D.M.(1999).Stereotypethreatandwomen'smathperformance.JournalofExperimentalSocialPsychology,35,428.
Steele,C.M.(1997).Athreatintheair:HowstereotypesshapetheintellectualidentitiesandperformanceofwomenandAfricanAmericans.AmericanPsychologist,52,613629.
Steele,C.M.(1999,August).Thinice:"Stereotypethreat"andblackcollegestudents.TheAtlanticMonthly,284(2),4447,5054.
Steele,C.M.,&Aronson,J.(1995).StereotypethreatandtheintellectualtestperformanceofAfricanAmericans.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,69,797811.
AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,July15,2006

ResearchinAction
Education
TestingandAssessment
GenderIssues

2016AmericanPsychologicalAssociation
750FirstSt.NE,Washington,DC200024242
Telephone:(800)3742721(202)3365500
TDD/TTY:(202)3366123

APAHome

Contact

PressRoom

Advertise

APAStore

PrivacyStatement

TermsofUse

Accessibility

WebsiteFeedback

SiteMap

Help

JoinAPA|RenewMembership

http://www.apa.org/research/action/stereotype.aspx

1/2

28/12/2016

Stereotype threat widens achievement gap

FollowAPA:

MoreAPAwebsites:

APAStyle

APAPracticeCentral

APAEducationAdvocacyTrust

APACenterforOrganizationalExcellence

OnlinePsychologyLaboratory

ACTRaisingSafeKidsProgram

Psychology:ScienceinAction

APAPsycNET

http://www.apa.org/research/action/stereotype.aspx

2/2