When high-achieving women and minorities underperform:

The dangers ofstereotype threat

Talia Ben-Zeev

Psychology Department

San Francisco State University

With the collaboration of:

Cristina CarrasquilloKristen McDonaldDaniel NewhallGillian PattonDavid RogersTonya Stoddard

Alison ChingTattiya KliengklomTiffany Stewart

Dr. Michael Inzlicht, NYUDr. Steven Fein, Williams College

The Team

The real world

• Is there a sex difference in math performance?

Poorer performancein a high achieving

population

Claude Steele (e.g., 1997) vs. Benbow & Stanley (1980)

Stereotype threat:A phenomenon, which occurs when an individual isplaced in a setting in which the individual is reminded thathe/she is at risk of confirming a negative stereotype abouthis/her group.

The experience of stereotype threat may, in turn, interfere with intellectual performance, especially whenindividuals are highly identified with success andachievement in the given domain.

Stereotype threat andthe environment

Condition 1: All Female Condition 2: Female Minority

Inzlicht & Ben-Zeev (2000)

Experiment 1: Subjects: 72 female undergraduates

Test Type

math verbal

Condition

All female

Femaleminority

same

same

higher

lower

same

same

Experiment 1: Results

0.30.35

0.40.45

0.50.55

0.60.65

0.70.75

0.8

math verbal

Test

minoritysame-sex

Experiment 2aSubjects: Ninety-two male and female undergraduates

Sex

females males

Condition

Same sex

Minority

same

same

higher

lower

same

same

Experiment 2a: Results

0.5

0.55

0.6

0.65

0.7

0.75

0.8

females males

sex of participant

minority

same-sex

Experiment 2b

Females in the same-sex condition scored the highest(M = .70, SE = .04)

Females in the minority condition scored the lowest(M = .58, SE = .03),

Females in the mixed-sex majority conditionscored in the middle (M = .64, SE = .03)

We added a mixed-sex majority condition for females

A threatening environment can cause problem-solving

deficits

Simply placing a female in a test-taking situationwith males causes a decrease in her performance

The makeup of the social environment can induce problem-solving deficits but via which mediating processes?

The theoretical framework:Threat vs. Challenge

Appraisals

Stereotypeactivation

Threat

Challenge

Underperformance

IncreasedCatecholamines

IncreasedCortisol

Optimalperformance

Cognitiveappraisal

PhysiologicalEffects (arousal)

Performanceeffects

The Yerkes Dodson law

Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson, The Relation of Strength of Stimulus to Rapidity of Habit-Formation (1908)Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 18, 459-482).

Low Optimum High

Performance

Arousal

Experiment 3Experiment 3Mis-attribution of arousalBen-Zeev, Inzlicht, & Fein (under review)

“subliminal noise” control

Condition

Same sex

Minority

higher

lower

same

same

Experiment 3Experiment 3

“subliminal noise” control

Condition

Same sex

Minority32%

33% 44%

40%

Mis-attribution of arousalBen-Zeev, Inzlicht, & Fein (under review)

At our SFSU labWork in Progress:

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are needed to see this picture.

Daniel Newhall:Cortisol and Stereotype Threat

At our SFSU labWork in Progress:

Cristina Carassquillowith Kristen McDonald and Alison ChingThreat vs. Challenge in Asian American Females

At our SFSU lab:Work in Progress

Phoebe: “90% of a woman’s pheromones come out the top of her head. That’s why women are shorter, so that men will fall in love when they hug them.”

Tonya Stoddard and Tattiya Kliengklom:How subtle is stereotype threat?

At our SFSU labWork in Progress:

Tiffany Stewart and Gillian PattonWho is most susceptible to threat?

Our research agenda:Threat vs. Challenge

Stereotypeactivation

Threat

Challenge

Underperformance

IncreasedCatecholamines

IncreasedCortisol

Optimalperformance

Cognitiveappraisal

PhysiologicalEffects (arousal)

Performanceeffects

Stereotypes, neurophysiology, &

intellectual performance

Turning threat into challenge:Understanding how stereotypes affectneurophysiology and intellectual performance mayhelp create interventions for stigmatized individualswho are susceptible to underperformance under threat