Stereotype Threat and Bias

Question 1

Stereotype

Answer 1

• A widely held but fixed and oversimplified idea about a particular type of person based on their group membership

Question 2

Stereotype Threat or “Social Identity Threat”

Answer 2

• The fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group
• For example, a woman taking a math test in a room full of men may worry that she will perform poorly, confirming the stereotype of women being bad at math
• Causes anxiety (including physiological changes), reduced working memory capacity, and poor performance

Question 3

Typical paradigm

Answer 3

• Researchers frame the task as either stereotype relevant (e.g., a measure of intellectual ability in low SES participants or non-stereotype relevant (e.g., NOT indicative of intellectual ability)
• 2 (stereotype relevant vs. not relevant) X 2 (low SES vs. high SES)
• African-Americans and Euro-Americans take a test
  Prior to test, asked to check a box indicated ethnicity
  African-American’s performed more poorly
  **No group differences when not asked about ethnicity
• Asian Women asked to take a math test
  If asked for ethnicity, performed better
  If asked about gender, perform worse

Question 4

Cues that Trigger Stereotype Threat

Answer 4

• Anything that implicates one’s marginality
• Being the only person from one’s group (or close to it)
• Arthur Ashe and tendency to count
• Need “critical mass”
• No people with your same identity in power

Inclusiveness

• Does your company value diversity?
• Is a setting organized by identity (e.g., lunchroom segregated)?

Outright prejudice
- Is expression of prejudice normative?

Question 5

Cues are Present Throughout Education

Answer 5

K-12 and College have these cues
- At various stages in students’ educational careers, they can be discouraged from pursuing higher education or particular career paths (e.g., STEM)

It is NOT about marginalized people needing to:

• Buck up and trying twice as hard
• Be patient and enduring
• Have confidence in oneself

Stereotype threat is experienced the most by the students who care the most

• High achieving underrepresented groups in selective institutions or professions
• Thus facilitating the leaky pipeline

Question 6

Cues to Underrepresented Groups about Job Opportunities

Answer 6

• As stated, underrepresented groups can be discouraged from educational preparedness along the way
• Once they obtain the necessary education for a job, they may also be discouraged from applying for certain jobs based on company recruitment materials
• Settings (workplaces) have the power to signal the degree of threat or safety a person will experience

Question 7

Purdue - Vaughs et al., 2008

Answer 7

Colorblindness and trust in the work place.

Question 8

Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004

Answer 8

Resumes, White names vs. Black names

Question 9

Uhlmann & Cohen, 2005

Answer 9

Shifting standards

Solutions

• agree to objective criteria before job search
• criteria mass
• affirmation before important selection test (SAT,GRE)
• Belongingness intervention