Effects of stereotypes - SAQ Flashcards
What has most research studied on?
The effects of stereotyping on human behaviour has concentrated on the effects of negative stereotyping on human behaviour.
Who identified the phenomenon of stereotype threat?
Steele and Aronson (1995)
What is stereotype threat?
This is when individuals believe that their behaviour will be judged on the basis of negative stereotypes about their group instead of personal merit.
What groups does stereotype affect?
According to this theory, stereotype threat seems to affect the performance of African–Americans, the maths performance of women, the driving performance of women and the intellectual performance of poor children.
What study is used for effect of stereotypes?
Steele & Aronson
When was Steele & Aronson?
1995
What was the sample?
76 male and female, black and white undergraduates
What did the participants have to do?
Black students and white students were given a 30 minute verbal test that was difficult enough for most participants to find it challenging.
What were the two conditions?
Stereotype threat condition
Control condition
What was the stereotype threat condition?
Participants were told that the test diagnosed intellectual ability: ‘a genuine test of your verbal abilities and laminations’
What was the control condition?
Participants were told that the purpose of the research had nothing to do with intellectual ability: ‘to better understand the psychological factors involved in solving verbal problems’.
What was the assumption of the stereotype threat condition?
The assumption was that linking the test to ability would activate the existing racial stereotypes, so black participants faced the threat of fulfilling the stereotype.
What were the results?
White participants performed equally in the diagnostic and the non diagnostic condition.
Black participants performed as well as white participants in the non diagnostic condition.
However, black participants performed worse than white participants in the diagnostic condition.
What was the conclusion?
Linking the test to diagnosing ability depresses the performance of black students through stereotype threat. When the test is presented as less reflective of ability, black participants’ performance improves and matches that of white participants.
The researchers suggest that this may be explained by increased apprehension of black students over possibly conforming to the negative group stereotype. Faced with this possibility, participants become anxious, which affects their test performance.
