“Not performing worse but feeling older !” the negative effect of the induction of a negative aging stereotype

The present research investigated the effect of the induction of a negative stereotype on older adults’ performance during an endurance task, and how this stereotype influenced older adults’ subjective age. Thirty-four old women were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions: a negative stereotype condition and a nullified-stereotype condition. They performed an endurance task consisting of maintaining 30% of their maximal strength, as long as possible. Then, they answered a questionnaire including subjective age measurement. Contrary to expectations, the induction of the negative stereotype did not influence participants’ endurance performance. However, participants in the negative stereotype condition felt older than participants in the nullified-stereotype condition. As subjective age is relevant to late-life health outcomes, such as walking speed or mortality risk, it seems necessary to implement some strategies to decrease the negative effect of the negative stereotype on subjective age.     

Priming of disability and elderly stereotype in motor performance: similar or specific effects?

In three experimental studies, the effects of priming participants with the disability stereotype were investigated with respect to their subsequent motor performance. Also explored were effects of activating two similar stereotypes, persons with a disability and elderly people. In Study 1, participants were primed with the disability stereotype versus with a neutral prime, and then asked to perform on a motor coordination task. In Studies 2 and 3, a third condition was introduced: priming participants with the elderly stereotype. Results indicated that priming participants with the disability stereotype altered their motor performance: they showed decreased manual dexterity and performed slower than the non-primed participants. Priming with the elderly stereotype decreased only performance speed. These findings underline that prime-to-behavior effects may depend on activation of specific stereotype content.     

Effect of a sex stereotype on cortical activity during a self-paced exercise: A motor-related cortical potential approach

Recent research has shown that inducing a negative stereotype toward women does not always decrease the subsequent motor performance of women, but can increase it, especially during endurance tasks. The mechanisms involved are nonetheless still poorly understood. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a negative stereotype toward women on men’s and women’s performance during an endurance task, and to analyze the neuropsychological mechanisms involved through motor-related cortical potentials and motivation toward men/women. Thirty-four participants were assigned to a negative stereotype toward women condition and a nullified-stereotype condition and performed 80 self-paced intermittent isometric elbow contractions at a moderate perceived intensity. Results showed that women performed better when assigned to the negative stereotype toward women condition, they were more motivated to outperform men, and their MRCP amplitudes were higher in this same condition over the prefrontal cortex (i.e., FP1 and FP2). Concerning men, they also performed better when the negative stereotype toward women was induced. However, no effect emerged on motivation toward women and MRCP amplitudes. This study showed that inducing a negative stereotype during an endurance task led to a performance increase in women, which is contrary to the stereotype threat theory, strengthening the idea of a task-dependency effect when inducing a negative stereotype. This performance improvement observed in women may be caused by increased motivation to outperform men and a planning of the upcoming movement. Concerning men, more research is needed to clarify the mechanisms involved in such performance improvement.     

Priming performance-related concerns induces task-related mind-wandering

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that priming of performance-related concerns would (1) increase the frequency of task-related mind-wandering (i.e., task-related interference; TRI) and (2) decrease task performance. In each experiment, sixty female participants completed an operation span task (OSPAN) containing thought content probes. The task was framed as a math task for those in a condition primed for math-related stereotype threat and as a memory task for those in a control condition. In both studies, women whose performance-related concerns were primed via stereotype threat reported more TRI than women in the control. The second experiment used a more challenging OSPAN task and stereotype primed women also had lower math accuracy than controls. These results support the “control failures × current concerns” framework of mind-wandering, which posits that the degree to which the environmental context triggers personal concerns influences both mind-wandering frequency and content.     

Ageing-related stereotypes in memory: When the beliefs come true

Age-related stereotype concerns culturally shared beliefs about the inevitable decline of memory with age. In this study, stereotype priming and stereotype threat manipulations were used to explore the impact of age-related stereotype on metamemory beliefs and episodic memory performance. Ninety-two older participants who reported the same perceived memory functioning were divided into two groups: a threatened group and a non-threatened group (control). First, the threatened group was primed with an ageing stereotype questionnaire. Then, both groups were administered memory complaints and memory self-efficacy questionnaires to measure metamemory beliefs. Finally, both groups were administered the Logical Memory task to measure episodic memory, for the threatened group the instructions were manipulated to enhance the stereotype threat. Results indicated that the threatened individuals reported more memory complaints and less memory efficacy, and had lower scores than the control group on the logical memory task. A multiple mediation analysis revealed that the stereotype threat effect on the episodic memory performance was mediated by both memory complaints and memory self-efficacy. This study revealed that stereotype threat impacts belief in one's own memory functioning, which in turn impairs episodic memory performance.     

Peers and Performance: How In-Group and Out-Group Comparisons Moderate Stereotype Threat Effects

The present study examined how exposure to the performance of in-group and out-group members can both exacerbate and minimize the negative effects of stereotype threat. Female participants learned that they would be taking a math test that was either diagnostic or nondiagnostic of their math ability. Prior to taking the test, participants interacted with either an in-group peer (a female college student) or an out-group peer (a male college student) who had just taken the test, and learned that the student had either performed well or poorly on the test. Exposure to either an in-group or an out-group peer whose performance was consistent with the negative stereotype (a poor-performing female or a strong-performing male) exacerbated stereotype threat effects. In contrast, exposure to an in-group or an out-group peer whose performance challenged the negative stereotype (a strong-performing female or a poor-performing male) eliminated stereotype threat effects. These findings demonstrate that people can look to both in-group and out-group peers as sources of inspiration in the context of a negative stereotype.

Threatened to distraction: Mind-wandering as a consequence of stereotype threat

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that the threat of a negative stereotype increases the frequency of mind-wandering (i.e., task-unrelated thought), thereby leading to performance impairments. Study 1 demonstrated that participants anticipating a stereotype-laden test mind-wandered more during the Sustained Attention to Response Task. Study 2 assessed mind-wandering directly using thought sampling procedures during a demanding math test. Results revealed that individuals experiencing stereotype threat experienced more off-task thoughts, which accounted for their poorer test performance compared to a control condition. These studies highlight the important role that social forces can have on mind-wandering. More specifically, these results serve as evidence for task-unrelated thought as a novel mechanism for stereotype threat-induced performance impairments.     

性别刻板印象表征的形式及神经基础

本实验采用ERP技术,考察性别刻板印象的表征。结果发现,无论启动是上位范畴、子范畴、典型样例还是反例,被试对于刻板印象不一致的表征比一致的表征均诱发了波幅更大的N400,反应时更长。并且,被试对于性别刻板印象的表征存在层级差异。研究结果表明：（1）性别刻板印象的表征存在层级结构。（2）语义启动下,性别刻板印象违背诱发N400效应。（3）性别刻板印象表征存在自上而下的由大脑额叶进行的语义分类加工。     

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.     

Arousal and stereotype threat

Seemingly insignificant features of the context can undermine the quantitative performance of skilled females—an effect attributed to stereotype threat. The present studies tested the hypotheses that stereotype threat triggers arousal, and that attributions about that arousal could moderate the effects of stereotype threat on performance. To examine whether arousal is triggered by stereotype threat, we conducted two experiments in which female participants were asked to take a math test under conditions of stereotype threat or not. In Study 1, women under stereotype threat performed better on an easy threat-irrelevant task, but worse on a difficult threat-irrelevant task than women not under threat. In Study 2, threatened women underperformed on a math test, but this underperformance was attenuated for women directed to misattribute their arousal. These results suggest that arousal—and how arousal is attributed—may play an important role in the debilitating effects of stereotype threat.     

The effect of stereotype threat on student-athlete math performance

ObjectivesTo assess whether a subtle stereotype threat of student-athletes would cause a decrease in both academic effort and performance.DesignA 2 (Male/Female) x 2 (Athlete Prime/No Athlete Prime) design was used to assess effort and performance on a math test.MethodA subtle threat manipulation was used to prime half of 60 NCAA Division III student-athletes with their athletic identity prior to taking a difficult math test.ResultsSupporting the hypotheses, student-athletes who were primed with their athletic identity attempted significantly fewer problems and received lower mean math scores than those who were not primed. Contrary to hypotheses, gender did not impact effort or performance, and there was no evidence of buffering effects of priming non-athlete identities.ConclusionsThe results of this experiment provide evidence for stereotype threat effects across genders and into Division III athletes, which potentially impact student-athlete academic performance.     

自我效能感和认知风格对刻板印象激活效应的影响

通过两个实验考察了自我效能感与认知风格在刻板印象激活效应(个体刻板印象的激活会影响个体随后的行为表现,使之符合所激活的刻板印象)中的作用,初步探讨了刻板印象的激活引发行为改变的内在心理机制。实验1采取单因素被试间实验设计,将被试随机分配到实验组和控制组,接着完成智力测试与自我效能感评价任务。结果发现自我效能感在刻板印象激活效应对于智力测试成绩的影响中起着中介作用。在此基础上,实验2进一步纳入认知风格,首先对被试的握力进行前测,1周后再将被试随机分配到高耐力组和低耐力组进行再测。结果表明:自我效能感在刻板印象激活引发的行为表现中依然起着中介作用。与此同时,虽然场依存的被试更易受刻板印象激活效应的影响,而场独立的被试则不易受到这种情境的影响,但是认知风格未起到中介作用。     

The “Obama Effect”: How a salient role model reduces race-based performance differences

Barack Obama, the first Black-American president, has been widely heralded as a role model for Black-Americans because he inspires hope. The current study was conducted to assess whether, beyond simply inspiring hope, this “Obama Effect” has a concrete positive influence on Black-Americans’ academic performance. Over a three-month period we administered a verbal exam to four separate groups of Black- and White-American participants at four predetermined times. When Obama’s stereotype-defying accomplishments garnered national attention - just after his convention speech, and election to the presidency - they had a profound beneficial effect on Black-Americans’ exam performance, such that the negative effects of stereotype threat were dramatically reduced. This effect occurred even when concerns about racial stereotypes continued to exist. The fact that we found performance effects with a random sample of American participants, far removed from any direct contact with Obama, attests to the powerful impact of ingroup role models.     

It depends on your perspective: The role of self-relevance in stereotype-based underperformance

Much research has examined how stereotype threat leads to the underperformance of stereotyped targets. The underlying cause for this effect, however, remains unclear. Some researchers argue that stereotype threat can be explained from a behavioral-priming perspective, while others claim that it necessarily involves concerns about confirming a negative self-relevant stereotype. The current experiment highlights the critical role of self-relevance in distinguishing between stereotype priming and stereotype threat. Results showed that when participants wrote about a stereotyped target from a first-person perspective, both targets and non-targets performed poorly under stereotype threat conditions, because writing from a first-person perspective made the stereotype self-relevant for non-targets. But when participants wrote about a stereotyped target from a third-person perspective, only targets underperformed since the stereotype was already self-relevant. Moreover, when the stereotype was made self-relevant non-targets experienced the same threat-based concerns that targets experience under stereotype threat conditions.     

外来务工女性刻板印象威胁的应对策略与认同管理

为了探讨外来务工女性群体刻板印象威胁的应对策略和认同管理,从天津市WX社区通过滚雪球抽样方法选取124名外来务工女性作为被试,采用问卷调查的形式,测查了外来务工女性群体刻板印象应对策略和认同管理模式,尤其考察了认同基线水平、认同融合、否定策略和榜样策略对于应对和认同管理的有效性。结果表明：（1）外来务工女性群体具有双重认同趋势;具有较高城市认同融合的外来务工女性群体具有显著的认同维护倾向;（2）不同印象管理水平的外来务工女性对否定策略的使用差异性很小,反而是刻板印象威胁的长期性和暴露性是引发否定策略的重要因素;（3）角色榜样成功的应得性对外来务工女性城市认同感的提高具有积极效应;（4）城市务工年数和收入成为这一群体城市认同的主要影响因素。     

Evidence that blatant versus subtle stereotype threat cues impact performance through dual processes

An experiment tested three competing hypotheses for how blatant and subtle stereotype threat cues influence the performance of female sports participants on a golf-putting task. A “predominant” model predicts that blatant threat cues have a more negative effect on performance than subtle threat cues, whereas an “additive” model predicts that both cues combine to have a greater negative effect than either threat cue alone. However, a “dual process” model predicts that each threat cue has an independent negative influence through separate mechanisms. To test these predictions, we varied the presence of blatant (e.g., the task frame) and subtle cues (e.g., the gender of the experimenter) for negative stereotypes about female athletes, and then measured both the number of strokes required to finish the course and accuracy on the last putt of each hole. The results supported the dual process model prediction: females required more strokes to finish the golf task when it was framed as measuring gender differences compared to racial differences in athletic ability, and females performed less accurately on the last putt of each hole in the presence of a male versus a female experimenter. The discussion focuses on how the presence of multiple stereotype threat cues can induce independent mechanisms that may have separate but simultaneously deleterious effects on performance.     

The Effects of Stereotyping and Implicit Theory on Benevolent Prejudice Toward Aboriginal Canadians

Stereotyping and implicit theory on benevolent prejudice toward an Aboriginal student were investigated in a mock work setting. In a 2 (Stereotype: prime vs. no prime) × 2 (Theory: entity vs. incremental) × 2 (Race: Aboriginal vs. Caucasian) between‐subjects design, non‐Aboriginal participants were primed or not primed with a negative Aboriginal stereotype and an entity or incremental implicit theory before evaluating an Aboriginal or Caucasian student. Consistent with a benevolent prejudice perspective, when primed with the stereotype, only participants holding an entity theory expressed greater desire to help the Aboriginal compared to the Caucasian candidate, despite both candidates demonstrating identical performance information. Implications for prejudice in work environments are discussed.     

Performance boosts in the classroom: Stereotype endorsement and prejudice moderate stereotype lift

The present study (N = 293) examined whether stereotype endorsement and prejudice moderate stereotype lift (i.e., a performance boost caused by the salience of a negative out-group stereotype in the testing situation). The stereotype in the focus of inquiry was the belief that immigrant students have lower intellectual ability than native students. French native high school students performed an intellectual test in a condition of low stereotype salience (the test was presented as assessing individual differences) or in a condition of high stereotype salience (the test was presented as assessing group differences between African immigrants and native students). As expected, results indicated that native students high in stereotype endorsement and those high in prejudice performed better in the high than in the low stereotype salience condition, whereas those low on these constructs did not. By identifying two moderators of stereotype lift, this study sheds new light on the achievement gap between immigrant and native students in educational institutions.     

Do performance avoidance goals moderate the effect of different types of stereotype threat on women’s math performance?

Stereotype threat is considered to be a robust effect that explains persistent gender gaps in math performance and scientific career trajectories. Some evidence suggests stereotype threat effects are buffered by adoption of performance avoidance goals (Chalabaev, Major, Sarrazin, & Cury, 2012). With 590 American female participants, we closely replicated Chalabaev et al. (2012). Results showed no significant main or interaction effects for stereotype threat or performance avoidance goals, despite multiple controls. We conclude that effects of stereotype threat might be smaller than typically reported and find limited evidence for moderation by avoidance achievement goals. Accordingly, stereotype threat might not be a major part of the explanation for the gender gap in math performance, consistent with recent meta-analyses (Flore & Wicherts, 2015).