Stereotype threat reduces false recognition when older adults are forewarned

Exposing older adults to ageing stereotypes can reduce their memory for studied information—a phenomenon attributed to stereotype threat—but little is known about stereotype effects on false memory. Here, we assessed ageing stereotype effects on the Deese-Roediger-McDermott false memory illusion. Older adults studied lists of semantically associated words, and then read a passage about age-related memory decline (threat condition) or an age-neutral passage (control condition). They then took a surprise memory test with a warning to avoid false recognition of non-studied associates. Relative to the control condition, activating stereotype threat reduced the recognition of both studied and non-studied words, implicating a conservative criterion shift for associated test words. These results indicate that stereotype threat can reduce false memory, and they help to clarify mixed results from prior ageing research. Consistent with the regulatory focus hypothesis, threat motivates older adults to respond more conservatively when error-prevention is emphasised at retrieval.     

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.     

“The threat is in the head,not in the legs”: Activating negative age stereotypes generates extra cognitive load during walking

ObjectiveActivating negative age stereotypes has been consistently shown to impair cognitive performance in older adults, but not motor performance, especially on mobility tasks. We tested the hypothesis that older adults may still experience stereotype threat, even if mobility performance is not affected. To do so, we examined whether inducing negative stereotypes may increase cognitive load during a walking task.MethodThis question was investigated in a dual-task paradigm: older adults performed simultaneously a walking task and a Stroop task, in stereotype and control conditions.ResultsResults showed that the stereotype induction did not affect walking parameters but decreased performance on the Stroop task, indicating that this induction increased cognitive load during walking.DiscussionThese results suggest that negative age stereotypes may be damaging even if walking parameters are not affected, by altering older adults' attention to their walking environment. We conclude by highlighting theoretical and practical implications.     

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.     

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.     

The perils of double consciousness: The role of thought suppression in stereotype threat

The goal of the present research is to demonstrate, and then alleviate, the role of thought suppression in depressing women’s math performance under stereotype threat. We hypothesize that when taking a math test, women (but not men) attempt to suppress thoughts of the math-related gender stereotype. Suppression leads to underperformance when it uses up cognitive resources. In Study 1, women underperform on a math test and show postsuppressional rebound of the stereotype when cognitive resources are reduced. In Study 2, women suppress the stereotype after a math test begins, but show rebound when the test is complete. In Study 3, making the stereotype irrelevant to the test improves performance and reduces postsuppressional rebound. In Studies 4 and 5, we test a strategy women can use to make suppression easier, and show that it restores math performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

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.     

The Obama effect: An experimental test

Past research on stereotype threat and role model effects, as well as a recent quasi-experiment (Marx, Ho, & Freidman, this issue) suggested the possibility of an “Obama effect” on African American’s standardized test performance, whereby the salience of Barack Obama’s stereotype defying success could positively impact performance. We tested this reasoning in a randomized experiment with a broad sample of college students from across the country. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that students prompted to think about Barack Obama prior to taking a difficult standardized verbal test would improve their performance relative to white students, and to African American students in control conditions that were not prompted to think about Obama. Our results did not support this hypothesis. Test scores were unaffected by prompts to think about Obama and no relationship was found between test performance and positive thoughts about Obama, a disconfirmation of both the findings and conclusions of the Marx, Ho, and Freidman study.     

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.     

When women can’t do math: The interplay of self-construal, group identification, and stereotypic performance standards

The present research examined the interplay of self-construal (independent vs. interdependent), gender group identification, and performance standards (positive vs. negative) on women’s math performance. Female participants were given a subtle self-prime prior to completing a math test under conditions where either a positive or negative group-based performance standard was rendered accessible. We report an interactive effect of self-construal, gender identification, and performance standard such that a negative (compared to a positive) standard decreased performance under interdependent self-prime (“we”) conditions, whereas the reverse pattern emerged under independent self-prime (“I”) conditions. Importantly, we observed this interplay of performance standards and self-construal only in individuals who self-identify with their gender group whereas performance outcomes of low identifiers were not affected by the experimental manipulations.