Stereotype threat and test performance: A primer for school psychologists

Ethical guidelines require school psychologists to ensure that their assessment practices are nondiscriminatory, but typical discussions on this topic neglect the possible discriminatory effects of cultural stereotypes on assessment results. Recent research on stereotype threat shows that students' knowledge of stereotype-based negative expectations about their test performance can depress their actual test performance. This paper discusses the range of conditions that promote stereotype threat and identifies important moderators and mediators of the phenomenon. Several practical suggestions are offered for school psychologists to consider when interviewing students, interpreting assessment results, and developing programs to increase schoolwide achievement.     

Stereotype threat and group differences in test performance: a question of measurement invariance

Studies into the effects of stereotype threat (ST) on test performance have shed new light on race and sex differences in achievement and intelligence test scores. In this article, the authors relate ST theory to the psychometric concept of measurement invariance and show that ST effects may be viewed as a source of measurement bias. As such, ST effects are detectable by means of multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. This enables research into the generalizability of ST effects to real-life or high-stakes testing. The modeling approach is described in detail and applied to 3 experiments in which the amount of ST for minorities and women was manipulated. Results indicate that ST results in measurement bias of intelligence and mathematics tests.     

Stereotype threat and arousal: effects on women's math performance

Theories of arousal suggest that arousal should decrease performance on difficult tasks and increase performance on easy tasks. An experiment tested the hypothesis that the effects of stereotype threat on performance are due to heightened arousal. The authors hypothesized that telling participants that a math test they are about to take is known to have gender differences would cause stereotype threat in women but not in men. In the experiment, each participant took two tests--a difficult math test and an easy math test. Compared to women in a "no differences" condition, women in the "gender differences" condition scored better on the easy math test and worse on the difficult math test. Men's performance was unaffected by the manipulation. These data are consistent with an arousal-based explanation of stereotype threat effects. Data were inconsistent with expectancy, evaluation apprehension, and persistence explanations of the stereotype threat phenomenon.     

Stereotype threat: the effect of expectancy on performance

The goal of this study was to investigate to role of expectancy as a potential mediator of performance deficits under stereotype threat. In Experiment 1, female students were assigned to one of three experimental conditions in which they were told that women perform worse (Negative information), equally (Control) or better (Positive information) than men in logical–mathematical tests. Later, they were given a difficult math test and asked to estimate their performance prior to taking the test. Consistent with predictions, participants who considered logical–mathematical abilities important and received negative information regarding the ingroup showed lower levels of expectations and a sharp decrease in performance compared to women in the positive and control conditions. Moreover, expectancy was found to partially mediate the effect of stereotype threat on performance. In Experiment 2, we tested the generalizability of these results to non‐stigmatized groups. A group of Black Americans living in Italy were provided with favorable or unfavorable information about either their minority (Blacks) or their majority (Americans) ingroup. Consistent with predictions, participants both in the minority and in the majority condition had lower expectations and under‐performed after negative information about the ingroup. However, the level of expectancy was found to mediate the decrease in performance for participants in the Black but not in the American condition. In the discussion of these results it is suggested that, although comparable performance deficits are found for minority and majority members, the underlying processes may be different. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When avoiding failure improves performance: Stereotype threat and the impact of performance goals

We examined the impact of inducing performance-avoidance and approach goals (versus no goal) on women??s math performance in stereotype threatening versus nonthreatening situations. Two experiments showed that inducing either stereotype threat (versus no-threat) or a performance-avoidance goal (versus no goal) alone led to decreased math performance. However, inducing both stereotype threat and a performance-avoidance goal increased women??s performance and challenge appraisals. These findings are consistent with the theory of regulatory fit. Performance and challenge appraisals increased when there was a fit between the motivation associated with stereotype threat (avoid failure) and the induced goal (avoid performing worse than others). Implications for stereotype threat, achievement goals and regulatory focus theories are discussed.     

Stereotype threat and female communication styles

A large body of research has documented the performance-debilitating effects of stereotype threat for individuals, but there is a paucity of research exploring interpersonal consequences of stereotype threat. Two experiments tested the hypothesis that stereotype threat would change the style in which women communicate. Results indicate that women who experience stereotype threat regarding leadership abilities react against the stereotype by adopting a more masculine communication style. Study 2 provides evidence that self-affirmation eliminates this effect of stereotype threat on women's communication styles. A third study demonstrates an ironic consequence of this effect of stereotype threat on women's communication--when women under stereotype threat adopt a more masculine communication style, they are rated as less warm and likeable, and evaluators indicate less willingness to comply with their requests. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Stereotype threat undermines intellectual performance by triggering a disruptive mental load

Research on stereotype threat has repeatedly demonstrated that the intellectual performance of social groups is particularly sensitive to the situational context in which tests are usually administered. In the present experiment, an adaptation of the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices Test was introduced as a measure of cognitive ability. Results showed that individuals targeted by a reputation of intellectual inferiority scored lower on the test than did other people. However, when the identical test was not presented as a measure of cognitive ability, the achievement gap between the target and the control group disappeared. Using heart rate variability indices to assess mental workload, our findings showed that the situational salience of a reputation of lower ability undermined intellectual performance by triggering a disruptive mental load. Our results indicate that group differences in cognitive ability scores can reflect different situational burdens and not necessarily actual differences in cognitive ability.     

Stereotype threat undermines academic learning

Two experiments tested whether stereotype threat can undermine the acquisition of academic knowledge and thus harm performance even in nonthreatening settings. In Experiment 1, Black and White students studied rare words in either nonthreatening or threatening conditions. One to two weeks later, participants recalled word definitions, half in a nonthreatening "warm-up" and half in a threatening "test." Replicating past research, Black students performed worse on the test than on the warm-up. But importantly, Black students who had studied in the threatening rather than nonthreatening environment performed worse even on the warm-up. White students were unaffected. In Experiment 2, a value affirmation eliminated the learning-threat effect and provided evidence of psychological process. The results suggest that stereotype threat causes a form of "double jeopardy" whereby threat can undermine both learning and performance. The discussion addresses implications for the interpretation of group differences and for understanding how brief threat-reducing interventions can produce long-lasting benefits.     

Stereotype threat in the classroom: dejection mediates the disrupting threat effect on women's math performance

Research on stereotype threat, which is defined as the risk of confirming a negative stereotypic expectation about one's group, has demonstrated that the applicability of negative stereotypes disrupts the performance of stigmatized social groups. While it has been shown that a reduction of stereotype threat leads to improved performance by members of stigmatized groups, there is a lack of clear-cut findings about the mediating processes. The aim of the present study is to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms that stereotype threat causes in women working on mathematical problems. In addition, the study set out to test stereotype threat theory in a natural environment: high school classrooms. The experiment involved the manipulation of the gender fairness of a math test. The results indicate that the stereotype threat effect exists in this everyday setting. Moreover, it appears that dejection emotions mediate the effect of threat manipulation.     

Stereotype threat and performance: how self-stereotypes influence processing by inducing regulatory foci

The authors hypothesized that activated self-stereotypes can influence the strategies of task solution by inducing regulatory foci. More specifically, positive self-stereotypes should induce a promotion focus state of eagerness, whereas negative stereotypes should induce a prevention focus state of vigilance. Study 1 showed that a negative ascribed stereotype with regard to task performance leads to better recall for avoidance-related statements whereas a positive stereotype leads to better recall for approach-related statements. In Studies 2 and 3, both an experimental manipulation of group performance expectation and the preexisting stereotype of better verbal skills in women than in men led to faster and less accurate performance in the positive as compared with the negative stereotype group. Studies 4 and 5 showed that positive in-group stereotypes led to more creative performance whereas negative stereotypes led to better analytical performance. These results point to a possible mechanism for stereotype-threat effects.     

Mindfulness,anxiety, and high-stakes mathematics performance in the laboratory and classroom

Mindfulness enhances emotion regulation and cognitive performance. A mindful approach may be especially beneficial in high-stakes academic testing environments, in which anxious thoughts disrupt cognitive control. The current studies examined whether mindfulness improves the emotional response to anxiety-producing testing situations, freeing working memory resources, and improving performance. In Study 1, we examined performance in a high-pressure laboratory setting. Mindfulness indirectly benefited math performance by reducing the experience of state anxiety. This benefit occurred selectively for problems that required greater working memory resources. Study 2 extended these findings to a calculus course taken by undergraduate engineering majors. Mindfulness indirectly benefited students’ performance on high-stakes quizzes and exams by reducing their cognitive test anxiety. Mindfulness did not impact performance on lower-stakes homework assignments. These findings reveal an important mechanism by which mindfulness benefits academic performance, and suggest that mindfulness may help attenuate the negative effects of test anxiety.     

Stereotype threat: effects on education

Numerous stereotypes exist regarding race and gender, and while all are difficult to eradicate, one still regnant throughout society is the notion that females are not as capable as males within the fields of math and science. In order to expose this belief as faulty, an in depth literature review was initiated, with special attention being placed on interventions considered helpful in eliminating stereotype threat. The paper’s primary purpose centered on how, and to what extent, stereotype threats affect the mathematics scores of females and minorities. In addition, case studies and a critical perspective regarding the research, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed.     

Stereotype threat and working memory: mechanisms, alleviation, and spillover

Stereotype threat (ST) occurs when the awareness of a negative stereotype about a social group in a particular domain produces suboptimal performance by members of that group. Although ST has been repeatedly demonstrated, far less is known about how its effects are realized. Using mathematical problem solving as a test bed, the authors demonstrate in 5 experiments that ST harms math problems that rely heavily on working memory resources--especially phonological aspects of this system. Moreover, by capitalizing on an understanding of the cognitive mechanisms by which ST exerts its impact, the authors show (a) how ST can be alleviated (e.g., by heavily practicing once-susceptible math problems such that they are retrieved directly from long-term memory rather than computed via a working-memory-intensive algorithm) and (b) when it will spill over onto subsequent tasks unrelated to the stereotype in question but dependent on the same cognitive resources that stereotype threat also uses. The current work extends the knowledge of the causal mechanisms of stereotype threat and demonstrates how its effects can be attenuated and propagated.     

Effort,aversive representations and performance in test anxiety

The effects that effort and attention to aversive representations have on performance are analysed. Effort is manipulated by monetary incentives, and aversive representations are provoked by test and failure conditions. The most difficult items of the task—an inductive non-verbal reasoning test—are performed more poorly by high-trait-anxious Ss under test conditions with reward than by low-anxious Ss, but they do not differ under test instructions without reward. And there are no differences in the less difficult items. These results lend support to Eysenck's conceptualization on the effects of anxiety on performance effectiveness and on processing efficiency. Alternative interpretations are discussed.     

Stereotype threat in classroom settings: The interactive effect of domain identification,task difficulty and stereotype threat on female students' maths performance

Background. Stereotype threat research revealed that negative stereotypes can disrupt the performance of persons targeted by such stereotypes. This paper contributes to stereotype threat research by providing evidence that domain identification and the difficulty level of test items moderate stereotype threat effects on female students' maths performance. Aims. The study was designed to test theoretical ideas derived from stereotype threat theory and assumptions outlined in the Yerkes–Dodson law proposing a nonlinear relationship between arousal, task difficulty and performance. Sample. Participants were 108 high school students attending secondary schools. Method. Participants worked on a test comprising maths problems of different difficulty levels. Half of the participants learned that the test had been shown to produce gender differences (stereotype threat). The other half learned that the test had been shown not to produce gender differences (no threat). The degree to which participants identify with the domain of maths was included as a quasi‐experimental factor. Results. Maths‐identified female students showed performance decrements under conditions of stereotype threat. Moreover, the stereotype threat manipulation had different effects on low and high domain identifiers' performance depending on test item difficulty. On difficult items, low identifiers showed higher performance under threat (vs. no threat) whereas the reverse was true in high identifiers. This interaction effect did not emerge on easy items. Conclusions. Domain identification and test item difficulty are two important factors that need to be considered in the attempt to understand the impact of stereotype threat on performance.     

Stereotype threat and feedback seeking in the workplace

This study examined stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995) in workplace settings and investigated relationships of stereotype threat to feedback seeking and feedback acceptance. Results from a sample of 166 African American managers showed that solo status in the work group predicted perceptions of stereotype threat. In addition, stereotype threat related positively to indirect feedback seeking and discounting of performance feedback from superiors. These findings have important implications for understanding the causes of group differences in job performance.     

Stereotype threat and inflexible perseverance in problem solving

The present research examines whether women burdened by stereotype threat, a threat of confirming negative ingroup stereotypes (Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 797-811), are less able to abandon old strategies and employ newer, more efficient ones when conditions change. In two studies, stereotype threat was found to increase inflexible perseverance: women made to believe they were taking a diagnostic math/spatial ability test, compared to those not threatened by stereotypes, were more likely to use previously successful but presently inefficient or incorrect strategies. In Study 1, participants under stereotype threat also suppressed relevant stereotypes to the greatest degree, and their inflexible perseverance was predicted by the degree to which they suppressed these stereotypes. Implications for test performance and potential decision-making effects of stereotype threat are discussed.     

Stereotype threat: When minority members underperform

This chapter provides a brief overview of research on stereotype threat, and considers whether this phenomenon is specific to minority groups (defined as low status groups), or whether similar deficits may also be observed in groups that generally enjoy a high status in society but that are negatively stereotyped in a specific domain. We then review a number of individual difference variables that moderate stereotype threat and that may explain why some people are highly vulnerable to stereotype activation while others appear to resist its influence. Next, we consider what processes drive stereotype threat, including anxiety, intrusive thoughts, shift towards caution, expectancy, and disengagement. In the subsequent section we compare the stereotype threat model with other theories dealing with the link between stereotypes and performance, in particular self-fulfilling prophecy and the expectancy value model. The final sections of the chapter concern areas of application in which stereotype threat may account for performance gaps between social groups, and how to prevent it.     

Stereotype threat impairs ability building: Effects on test preparation among women in science and technology

Stereotype threat is an uncomfortable psychological state that has been shown to impair cognitive ability test scores. It is an open question whether and in what ways it affects processes involved in learning and knowledge acquisition. This research examined whether stereotypes also interfere with test preparation among women in the domain of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Study 1 (N = 1058) revealed that people are aware of a stereotype portraying women as less proficient in STEM‐test preparation than men. Women's note‐taking activities were impaired under stereotype threat (Study 2, N = 40), particularly when domain identification was high (Study 3, N = 79). Moreover, stereotype threat impaired women's performance evaluating the notes of others (Study 4, N = 88). Our work thus shows that stereotype threat not only hinders stereotyped individuals' capacity to demonstrate their abilities but also impairs behaviors that develop them. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.