Difference between revisions of "Stereotype threat"

From Diversifying Economic Quality: A Wiki for Instructors and Departments

Jump to: navigation, search
 
(105 intermediate revisions by 8 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Stereotype threat''' is defined as “a situational predicament felt in situations where one can be judged by, treated in terms of, or self-fulfill negative stereotypes about one’s group”. Because of stereotype threat, an individual may not perform according to his or her innate ability; instead, this ability is impacted by generally held beliefs regarding this individual's grouping, whether it is by sex, age, gender, race, etc. The idea of stereotype threat was first developed by [[Claude Steel]] and it is discussed in detail in his book, "[[Whistling Vivaldi: and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us (Issues of Our Time)]]".
+
'''Stereotype threat''' is a psychological mechanism in which a person's performance is inhibited by prevalent stereotypes about a group to which the person belongs. This threat occurs when an individual is at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about his or her own group. The individual may not perform according to his or her true ability; rather, concerns about confirming generally held beliefs regarding this individual's grouping (e.g., sex, age, gender, race, etc.) cause him or her to under-perform.  [http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/definition.html  Click Here] to learn more. 
 +
__NOTOC__
 +
== Evidence of Stereotype Threat ==
 +
'''[http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/bibliography_steele_aronson.html Steele & Aronson (1995)]''' found that "Black college freshmen and sophomores performed more poorly on standardized tests than White students when their race was emphasized. When race was not emphasized, however, Black students performed better and equivalently with White students. The results showed that performance in academic contexts can be harmed by the awareness that one's behavior might be viewed through the lens of racial stereotypes." 
  
== Examples of Stereotype Threat ==
+
'''[http://course1.winona.edu/CFried/documents/stthreat.pdf Aronson, Fried, & Good (2002)]''' produced evidence that "encouraging students to see intelligence as malleable (i.e., embrace an incremental theory of intelligence) can raise enjoyment and performance in academic contexts."  In their experiment, college students in the treatment group learned an incremental theory of intelligence and wrote a letter explaining the theory to a low-performing middle school pen pal. "The African American students (and, to some degree, the White students) encouraged to view intelligence as malleable reported greater enjoyment of the academic process, greater academic engagement, and obtained higher grade point averages than their counterparts in two control groups."
When trying to understand certain performance gaps between groups, Steele and his colleagues did not focus on internal psychological factors. Instead, they tried to understand the possible causal role of identity contingencies, the things you have to deal with in a situation because you have a given social identity. Over the years they carried out a series of creative experiments* in which there was a control condition in which a task was given under normal conditions life. In the experimental condition, the identity contingency was either cleverly removed or it was deliberately induced. Here are three examples of experiments to clarify how they worked.
 
  
'''Experiment 1: Steele and Aronson (1995)'''
+
'''[http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/bibliography_ambady_paik_steele_owen-smith_mitchell.html Ambady, Paik, Steele, Owen-Smith, & Mitchell (2004)]''' showed that "individuation (priming an individual to recall her distinct interests and abilities) can serve as a buffer against stereotype threat, perhaps because it allows a means for individuals to distance the self from identities linked to the stereotype in question."
  
In this experiment the researchers had African American and white college students take a very challenging standardized test. In the control condition, the test was presented as these tests are always presented - as a measure of intellectual ability. This condition contained the stereotype that African Americans would be less intelligent. In the experimental condition the test was presented in a non-evaluative way. The test takers were told that the researchers were not interested in measuring their ability with the test but that they just wanted to use the test to examine the psychology of verbal problem solving. In the control condition, the African American test takers, on average, scored much lower than the white test takers. For the white test takers there was no difference in their scores between the control condition and the experimental condition. For the African American test takers there was a big difference between the control condition and the experimental condition. They solved about twice as many problems on the test in the experimental condition. Moreover, there was no difference between the performance of the black test takers and the white test takers.
+
Click [http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/bibliography.html  here] for a more complete listing of studies that document the existence, mediation, and moderation of stereotype threat.
  
'''Experiment 2: Aronson, Lustina, Good, Keough, Steele & Brown (1999)'''
+
[[File:Stereotype threat.jpg|right]]
  
In this experiment, the researchers asked highly competent white males to take a difficult math test. In the control condition the test was taken normally. In the experimental condition, the researchers told the test takers that one of their reasons for doing the research was to understand why Asians seemed to perform better on these tests. Thus, they artificially created a stereotype threat. In the experimental condition, the test takers solved significantly fewer of the problems on the test and felt less confident about their performance.
+
== How to Reduce Stereotype Threat ==
 +
  
'''Experiment 3: Shih, Pittinsky & Ambady (1999)'''
+
* [[biology is not destiny|Foster a growth mindset]] in your students.
 +
 +
*Reframe the task.
  
In this experiment, a difficult math test was given to Asian women under three conditions. In condition one, they were subtly reminded of their Asian identity, in condition 2 they were subtly reminded of their female identity. In the control condition they were not reminded of their identity. The women reminded of their Asianness performed better than the control group, whereas those reminded of their female identity performed worse than the control group.
+
*Deemphasize threatened social identities.
  
== Potential Solutions ==
+
*Encourage [[values affirmation]].
  
Experiments have shown that subtly removing or preventing stereotype threats can completely or largely eliminate performance gaps between stereotyped groups and non-stereotyped groups. This can be achieved by doing the following.
+
*Provide [[wise criticism]], emphasizing high standards with assurances of capability.  
  
- Make it clear in the way you give critical feedback that you use high standards and let the person know that you expect him or her to be able to eventually succeed.
+
*Provide [ftp://ftp1.economics.smu.edu/WorkingPapers/2017/SERRA/SERRA-2017-05.pdf role models].
  
- Improve the number of people from the social category in the setting so that a critical mass is reached.
+
*Provide external attributions for difficulty.
 +
 +
* Read about more [https://ed.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/interventionshandout.pdf Empirically Validated Strategies to Reduce Stereotype Threat].
  
- Make it clear that you value diversity.
+
[http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/reduce.html  Click Here] to go to www.ReducingStereotypeThreat.org for details on how to implement the above solutions.
  
- Foster inter-group conversations and frame these as a learning experience.
+
== What Economists Have to Say about Stereotype Threat ==
  
- Allow the stereotyped individuals to use self-affirmations.
+
Christina Günther (MPI of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group), Neslihan Arslan Ekincib, Christiane Schwieren (University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics AWI), and Martin Strobel (Universiteit Maastricht, Department of Economics) conducted [http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/505559/description#description experiments] supporting a stereotype threat explanation for the wage gap between men and women. "Women tend not to compete with men in areas where they (rightly or wrongly) think that they will lose anyway – and the same holds for men."    Their findings can be linked to the performance of women in the economics classroom. Since the field of economics is perceived as a "male" field, women may underperform or be discouraged from the field due to the perception that they do not belong.  
  
- Help the stereotyped individuals to develop a narrative about the setting that explains their frustrations while projecting positive engagement and success in the setting.
+
In [http://www.nber.org/papers/w14705.pdf "Stereotype Threat and the Student-Athlete"] (NBER Working Papers: 14705, 2009), Thomas S. Dee "presents an economic model of stereotype threat [as well as] empirical evidence from a laboratory experiment in which students at a selective college were randomly assigned to a treatment that primed their awareness of a stereotyped identity (i.e., student-athlete). This treatment reduced the test-score performance of athletes relative to non-athletes by 14 percent (effect size = -1.0)."
  
== References ==
+
There is very little literature from economists concerning stereotype threat itself, let alone stereotype threat in the classroom. As of May 2012, only ten publications show up in an Econlit search for "stereotype threat." Psychologists have explored this topic extensively, but the majority of research looks at the general implications of academic stereotypes of racial minorities and the implications in STEM of gender stereotypes. Very little research has examined the incidence of stereotype threat within the field of Economics.
Athene Donald's Blog [http://occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald/2010/11/18/stereotype-threat-underperformance-and-diversity/]
 
  
Reviews of "Whistling Vivaldi: And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us (Issues of Our Time)" [http://www.amazon.com/Whistling-Vivaldi-Stereotypes-Affect-Issues/dp/039306249X]
+
==Conclusion==
 +
In order to create a more inclusive classroom environment, economics professors should be aware of stereotype threat and its potential effects upon students. To explore more information concerning stereotype threat, please go to this [http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/ website]
  
"Linking Stereotype Threat and Anxiety" Osborne, Jason W., Educational Psychology, v27 n1 p135-154 Feb 2007. [http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ763423&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ763423]
 
  
 
+
{{hidden|Sources|
 
+
Stroessner, Steven, and Catherine Good. ReducingStereotypeThreat.org. Consortium of High Achievement and Success (CHAS) and Barnard College. Web. 11 July 2011. <http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/>.}}
 
 
 
 
----
 
 
 
this page is beautiful, sorry to mess it up. just want to remind myself to link to CHAS stereotype threat site; and to relate to women's reaction to grades in major choice. amanda
 
 
 
----
 
 
 
----
 

Latest revision as of 12:41, 4 June 2019

Stereotype threat is a psychological mechanism in which a person's performance is inhibited by prevalent stereotypes about a group to which the person belongs. This threat occurs when an individual is at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about his or her own group. The individual may not perform according to his or her true ability; rather, concerns about confirming generally held beliefs regarding this individual's grouping (e.g., sex, age, gender, race, etc.) cause him or her to under-perform. Click Here to learn more.

Evidence of Stereotype Threat

Steele & Aronson (1995) found that "Black college freshmen and sophomores performed more poorly on standardized tests than White students when their race was emphasized. When race was not emphasized, however, Black students performed better and equivalently with White students. The results showed that performance in academic contexts can be harmed by the awareness that one's behavior might be viewed through the lens of racial stereotypes."

Aronson, Fried, & Good (2002) produced evidence that "encouraging students to see intelligence as malleable (i.e., embrace an incremental theory of intelligence) can raise enjoyment and performance in academic contexts." In their experiment, college students in the treatment group learned an incremental theory of intelligence and wrote a letter explaining the theory to a low-performing middle school pen pal. "The African American students (and, to some degree, the White students) encouraged to view intelligence as malleable reported greater enjoyment of the academic process, greater academic engagement, and obtained higher grade point averages than their counterparts in two control groups."

Ambady, Paik, Steele, Owen-Smith, & Mitchell (2004) showed that "individuation (priming an individual to recall her distinct interests and abilities) can serve as a buffer against stereotype threat, perhaps because it allows a means for individuals to distance the self from identities linked to the stereotype in question."

Click here for a more complete listing of studies that document the existence, mediation, and moderation of stereotype threat.

Stereotype threat.jpg

How to Reduce Stereotype Threat

  • Reframe the task.
  • Deemphasize threatened social identities.
  • Provide wise criticism, emphasizing high standards with assurances of capability.
  • Provide external attributions for difficulty.

Click Here to go to www.ReducingStereotypeThreat.org for details on how to implement the above solutions.

What Economists Have to Say about Stereotype Threat

Christina Günther (MPI of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group), Neslihan Arslan Ekincib, Christiane Schwieren (University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics AWI), and Martin Strobel (Universiteit Maastricht, Department of Economics) conducted experiments supporting a stereotype threat explanation for the wage gap between men and women. "Women tend not to compete with men in areas where they (rightly or wrongly) think that they will lose anyway – and the same holds for men." Their findings can be linked to the performance of women in the economics classroom. Since the field of economics is perceived as a "male" field, women may underperform or be discouraged from the field due to the perception that they do not belong.

In "Stereotype Threat and the Student-Athlete" (NBER Working Papers: 14705, 2009), Thomas S. Dee "presents an economic model of stereotype threat [as well as] empirical evidence from a laboratory experiment in which students at a selective college were randomly assigned to a treatment that primed their awareness of a stereotyped identity (i.e., student-athlete). This treatment reduced the test-score performance of athletes relative to non-athletes by 14 percent (effect size = -1.0)."

There is very little literature from economists concerning stereotype threat itself, let alone stereotype threat in the classroom. As of May 2012, only ten publications show up in an Econlit search for "stereotype threat." Psychologists have explored this topic extensively, but the majority of research looks at the general implications of academic stereotypes of racial minorities and the implications in STEM of gender stereotypes. Very little research has examined the incidence of stereotype threat within the field of Economics.

Conclusion

In order to create a more inclusive classroom environment, economics professors should be aware of stereotype threat and its potential effects upon students. To explore more information concerning stereotype threat, please go to this website