Threat from stereotypes

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Stereotype threat ( Engl. Stereotype threat ) is the fear of members of a social group , their behavior could be a negative stereotype confirm to this group. This can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy when this fear influences behavior in the sense of prejudice . In test situations in particular, fear can reduce performance. For example, threats from stereotypes can affect members of ethnic minorities and women.

Examples of stereotyped threats

Women

Claude Steele allowed male and female students to take a math skills test. Shortly before the test, half of the sample were told that there were usually large gender differences in this test. In fact, women now fared significantly worse than men. The other half of the sample did not receive this statement. There were no significant gender differences in this group.

A research team at Harvard University examined two culturally widespread stereotypes and their effect on performance on a math test. The two stereotypes examined were, on the one hand, the assumption that Asians have above-average mathematical skills and, on the other hand, that women have inferior mathematical skills compared to men. The study showed that Asian-American women performed better on a math test when their ethnic identity was made salient , while they performed worse when their gender identity was activated.

Members of nations who consider themselves intellectually inferior

Stevenson, Chen, and Lee found evidence of stereotypical threats in US children. Tests of math skills were conducted in children from China, Japan, and the United States in both 1980 and 1990. At both times, the American children were far inferior to the Japanese and Chinese children. "Only 4.1% of Chinese and 10.3% of Japanese children (1990) had scores as low as the average American child." When Stevenson and his colleagues asked Asians and Americans to weigh up the importance of hard work at school and innate intelligence , Asians emphasized the importance of hard work, Americans the importance of intelligence. That Americans believed they couldn't learn math anyway and that they were genetically inferior to Asians contributed to their poor performance.

Nonverbal Indicators vs. Self-disclosure and gay men

Bosson, Haymovitz, and Pinel showed that there can be a difference between self-described fear and fear expressed through non-verbal indicators. They worked with the stereotype that gay men are more dangerous to children compared to straight men. The participants first filled out a questionnaire where, in addition to other demographic data, half were asked about their sexual orientation . They were then sent to a playroom with about twenty preschoolers, ages four to six, knowing that they would be videotaped. There they should be in contact for five minutes and participate in some of their activities. The evaluation showed that the homosexual men who had to state their sexual orientation showed significantly stronger non-verbal signs such as fidgeting, chewing on their lips, nervous smiles or nail biting, and they were also less skilled in dealing with the children than those who did not have to disclose their sexual orientation. In contrast, the self-assessment of heterosexual men showed no differences. They tended to show slightly fewer non-verbal signs of fear as soon as they had to state their sexual orientation, but there was no difference in dealing with the children.

Media-generated stereotype threat

According to the stereotype threat theory, it is assumed that negative stereotypes and derogatory content in the media impair the cognitive and academic performance of members of the negatively represented groups, while members of non-stereotyped groups are not affected by this or even have opposite effects (stereotype lift Effect). A meta-analytical study, in which a total of 33 studies were included, was able to confirm the postulated connection between the stereotype threat theory. Various moderator variables were also identified within the analysis, such as the group shown, the dependent variable (academic identification vs. performance), the media format (ads vs. news vs. entertainment) and the region in which the study was carried out.

Eliminating the threat of stereotypes

If the negative stereotype is successfully suppressed from consciousness with the help of a positive one, its effect can be effectively reduced. M. McGlone and J. Aronson (2006) subjected two groups of students to a difficult mathematical test. In the control group, the women performed significantly worse than the men. The experimental group was reminded prior to the test that they were at a "select northeastern college". There were no differences in performance between the sexes in this group.

See also

literature

  • Joshua Aronson, Diane M. Quinn, Steven J. Spencer: Stereotype threat and the academic under-performance of minorities and women . In: Janet K. Swim, Charles Stangor (Eds.): Prejudice. The target's perspective . Academic Press, San Diego and London 1998, ISBN 0-12-679130-9 , pp. 83-103

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Elliot Aronson , TD Wilson, RM Akert: Social Psychology. Pearson study. 6th edition 2008. ISBN 978-3-8273-7359-5 , pp. 442-443.
  2. ^ A b Claude M. Steele: A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. (PDF; 3.5 MB) In: American Psychologist . Vol. 52, No. 6, 1997, pp. 613-629.
  3. ↑ David G. Myers: Psychology. Springer, Heidelberg 2008, ISBN 3-540-79032-2 , pp. 506-508.
  4. ^ Margaret Shih, Todd L. Pittinsky and Nalini Ambady: Stereotype Susceptibility: Identity, Salience and Shifts in Quantitative Performance. (PDF; 40 kB) In: Psychological Science. Volume 10, No. 1, 1999, pp. 80-83.
  5. ^ Stevenson, HW, Chen, C., Lee, SY: Mathematics Achievement of Chinese, Japanese and American children: Ten years later Science, 259, 53-58
  6. ↑ Stevenson, quoted from: Richard J. Gerrig, Philip Zimbardo : Psychologie. 18th updated edition. Pearson Studium, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8273-7275-8 , p. 352.
  7. ↑ Richard J. Gerrig, Philip Zimbardo: Psychology 18th updated edition. Pearson Studium, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8273-7275-8 , p. 352.
  8. ↑ Jennifer K. Bosson, Ethan L. Haymovitz, Elizabeth C. Pinel: When saying and doing diverge: The effects of stereotype threat on self-reported versus non-verbal anxiety , Journal of experimental social psychology, ISSN  0022-1031 , 2004, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 247-255
  9. ^ Toni Schmader, Michael Johns, Chad Forbes: An integrated process model of stereotype threat effects on performance. In: Psychological Review . tape 115 , no. 2 , 2008, ISSN  1939-1471 , p. 336-356 , doi : 10.1037 / 0033-295X.115.2.336 , PMID 18426293 , PMC 2570773 (free full text) - ( apa.org [accessed February 9, 2020]).
  10. ^ Claude M. Steele, Joshua Aronson: Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . tape 69 , no. 5 , 1995, ISSN  1939-1315 , pp. 797-811 , doi : 10.1037 / 0022-3514.69.5.797 (DOI = 10.1037 / 0022-3514.69.5.797 [accessed February 9, 2020]).
  11. ↑ Markus Appel, Silvana Weber: Do Mass Mediated Stereotypes Harm Members of Negatively Stereotyped Groups? A Meta-Analytical Review on Media-Generated Stereotype Threat and Stereotype Lift . In: Communication Research . July 12, 2017, ISSN  0093-6502 , p. 009365021771554 , doi : 10.1177 / 0093650217715543 ( sagepub.com [accessed February 9, 2020]).