Stereotypes relevant to particular social groups often raise concerns among the group members that their performance would be evaluated based on the stereotype. These stereotypes related concerns become a burden that these individuals have to bear as they perform in different fields. Studies indicate that these stereotype concerns may lead to performance deficits in stereotyped domains (Inzlicht, & Kang, 2010). It is, therefore, crucial to analyze stereotype threats and how each occurs. It is equally important to consider how to remediate stereotype threats.
Social psychologists describe stereotype threat as a state of psychological discomfort experienced by an individual in situations where their behavior can potentially confirm a stereotype about their social group (Nelson, 2009). The situational dilemma makes the individuals feel that their behavior is likely to conform to stereotypes about their in-group. For instance, there is a cultural stereotype that African-Americans are less intelligent compared to Whites (Nelson, 2009). In a situation where the intellectual abilities of both social groups are under scrutiny, the African-Americans are likely to experience a stereotype threat due to the stereotype above about their social group. Studies demonstrate that in a performance context, situational factors such as marking the demographics section in a test paper and being examined on a stereotyped ability can significantly reduce the performance of individuals.
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Social psychology researchers agree that stereotype threat has a detrimental impact on the performance of individuals belonging to a stereotyped social group. However, research has not consistently demonstrated who is more vulnerable to a stereotype threat or what concerns describe a threat. Recent studies have described a range of stereotypes threats that seek to address the inconsistencies in earlier research. In 2007, Shapiro and Neuberg described six primary stereotypes threats that result from the interaction of two key dimensions; the target of the stereotype threat and the source of the stereotype threat (Shapiro, & Neuberg, 2007). In the context of the target of the stereotype threat, an individual's actions can reflect upon the individual's in-group or the self. The source of the threat, on the other hand, describes the self, the out-group others, or in-group others who have a chance to use the actions to indicate ability. The stereotype threats based on this interaction include; self-concept threat, group-concept threat, own-reputation threat, and group-reputation threat (Shapiro, & Neuberg, 2007).
The Self-Concept Threat involves an individual perceiving self as having a negative stereotypic characteristic. Based on the two-dimension intersection, the threat is categorized as a self-as-source, self-as-target stereotype threat (Nelson, 2009). It means that the source of the stereotype and the target of the stereotype do not involve other people. The perception of oneself influences the occurrence of the stereotype threat. For instance, Stacy, an African-American female student, may feel that poor performance in the examination will confirm her self-perception that she is less intelligent than her White classmates. The belief that she is less intelligent is only in her mind and does not influence other Black students in her class.
The Group-Concept Threat is more elaborate as it involves an individual perceiving the in-group as possessing a negative stereotypic trait. In the context of the two-dimension interaction, the threat is classified as a self-as-source, group-as-target stereotype threat (Nelson, 2009). It means that self-perception is the source of the threat, but the threat is perceived to be directed towards the in-group others. For instance, Stacy may feel that her poor performance in the examinations will confirm the self-perceived stereotype that African-Americans are less intelligent than Whites. In this case, Stacy's self-belief that Blacks are less intelligent than Whites is the source of the threat, and the Black race is the target of the threat.
Own-Reputation Threat is probably the most common form of stereotype threat. It involves both the out-group and the in-group others. The threat occurs when an individual is afraid that other people will perceive their performance through the lens of a negative stereotype attributed to their social group. An individual fears that they are likely to be judged or treated differently because they belong to a particular social group bearing a negative stereotype trait (Nelson, 2009). The threat can be classified as other-as-source, self-as-target stereotype threat. For instance, Stacy may feel that her poor performance in the examination may prompt other individuals in the out-group to consider her performance from a stereotypic angle. A teacher may attribute Stacy's performance to her being an African-American since Blacks are culturally stereotyped to perform poorly compared to the Whites.
The Group-Reputation Threat also involves both the out-group and the in-group others. The fear attributed to this threat is that an individual may misrepresent their in-group in the performance context. Individuals are afraid that by their poor performance, they would affirm the negative stereotype trait attributed to their in-group by others (Nelson, 2009). Based on the two-dimension intersection, the threat is classified as another-as-source, group-as-target stereotype threat. For instance, Stacy may feel that performing poorly in her examinations would affirm the stereotype that others have about the African-American students as less intelligent than Whites. It is essential to realize that each of these threats is unique and independent of each other. However, they often occur together in situational predicaments that result in stereotype threat.
A different set of factors stimulates each of the stereotype threat. Self-perception and group identity are some of the factors that distinctively influence the occurrence of stereotype threats. Self-perception describes the individual belief that a stereotype is true. Social psychologists describe this as stereotype endorsement (Nelson, 2009). Group identity, on the other hand, describes the extent to which an individual considers the in-group as a crucial part of social identity. The experience of stereotype threat is significantly dependent on both of these factors.
Self-perception increases the occurrence of self-as-source stereotype threats compared to other-as-source threats. Once an individual endorses a stereotype in their mind, the source of the threat is more likely to originate from the self (Shapiro, & Neuberg, 2007). For instance, if Stephanie does not believe that she is expected to perform poorly in math because she is a woman. The fear that her poor performance in math is likely to confirm her perception that she is weak in math because she is a woman is less likely to occur. In this situation, a self-as-a source of threat is less likely to influence the stereotype threat experience. However, other-as-source stereotype threat is expected to happen since her stereotype endorsement or lack thereof does not change the perception of others. Stephanie may, therefore, experience other-as-source stereotype threats.
Group identity, on the other hand, increases the occurrence of both out-group-as-target and in-group-as-target stereotype threats. The extent of the social identity of individuals in the context of an in-group will significantly influence their stereotype threat experience (Nelson, 2009). For instance, if Stephanie's identity as a woman is insignificant to her self-concept, she is less likely to be concerned about how others will perceive her performance because she is a woman. Also, she will be less worried about the perception of other women on her performance. However, she can still experience self-as-target stereotype threats as her group identity does not influence her self-perception.
The stereotype threat experience due to these factors may differ if an individual belongs to multiple negatively stereotyped groups. For instance, there are certain stereotyped social groups such as a religious group that may not stimulate stereotype endorsement. Individuals belonging to such groups are less likely to experience self-as-source stereotype threats (Nelson, 2009). Also, belonging to a social group with a negative stereotype trait that does not elicit group identities such as mental illness or obese individuals is less likely to trigger group-as-target and in-group stereotype threats. The stereotype threat is, therefore, experienced differently across different social groups with a negative stereotype.
There are several detrimental consequences of stereotype threats. Studies identify performance deficits in various stereotyped fields as a significant consequence of stereotype threats. A study that required students to identify their race on a demographics page before or after completing a math test can illustrate the effect of stereotype threats to performance. The study involved African-American students. Those students who indicated their race after completing the test performed 20% better than those who identified their race before undertaking the test (Shenouda, & Danovitch, 2014). The study demonstrated that a stereotype threat occurred when the students were required to identify their race before the test, which impacted their performance in the test. The stereotype endorsement factor influenced the occurrence of the stereotype threat. The students who identified their race before the test felt that they could not perform well in the test. A self-as-source stereotype threat undermined their performance in the test.
Another consequence is the stereotype threat spillover. Social psychologists describe stereotype threat spillover as a situation where an individual is less able to engage in tasks that require self-control after experiencing a stereotype threat (Inzlicht, & Kang, 2010). An individual is likely to have limited volitional resources to perform regular tasks that are not subject to stereotyping. For instance, a stereotype-threatened woman is likely to perform poorly in a verbal test due to a stereotype threat that occurred in a math test. Stereotype threat spillover may result in detrimental defensive behavior as individuals lose their self-control.
There are possible intervention measures that can be undertaken to remediate stereotype threats. Stereotype threat interventions for threats targeting the group include exposing the threatened individuals to in-group role models who have succeeded in the stereotype-threatened fields. The role model positively represents the group, and this is likely to reduce the negative impact of the threats on the social group. Another intervention would be self-affirmation, which targets the self. The intervention seeks to affirm values that an individual possesses, which would protect the individual against stereotype threat (Sherman, & Cohen, 2006). Through self-affirmation, an individual is capable of realizing their self-worth and appreciate that their performance in a stereotyped domain does not imply their inability. This prevents the occurrence of self-as-source stereotype threats.
Lastly, interventions targeting the cognitive burden created by the stereotype threat may include training individuals to associate positive stimuli with the stereotyped field. For instance, associating a successful career with excellent performance in examinations whenever a student is taking an exam would suppress the stereotype threat that would undermine performance in the tests.
References
Inzlicht, M., & Kang, S. K. (2010). Stereotype threat spillover: how coping with threats to social identity affects aggression, eating, decision making, and attention. Journal of personality and social psychology , 99 (3), 467.
Nelson, T. D. (2009). Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination . Psychology Press.
Shapiro, J. R., & Neuberg, S. L. (2007). From stereotype threat to stereotype threats: Implications of a multi-threat framework for causes, moderators, mediators, consequences, and interventions. Personality and Social Psychology Review , 11 (2), 107-130.
Shenouda, C. K., & Danovitch, J. H. (2014). Effects of gender stereotypes and stereotype threat on children’s performance on a spatial task. Revue internationale de psychologie sociale , 27 (3), 53-77.
Sherman, D. K., & Cohen, G. L. (2006). The psychology of self ‐ defense: Self ‐ affirmation theory. Advances in experimental social psychology , 38 , 183-242.
