Stereotype Threat Theory Research Articles

Do Interviewers Affect Measures of Factual Political Knowledge? Evidence from Austria and Germany

AbstractThis study examines how interviewers’ gender and education affect the measured level of factual political knowledge by drawing on competing theoretical frameworks: stereotype threat theory and interviewer noncompliance with the instructions. Testing these mechanisms using survey data from the Austrian National Election Study (AUTNES) and the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES), we find no evidence for a stereotype threat effect, but seem to observe interviewer effects resulting from interviewer non-compliance. In Germany, respondents’ measured level of knowledge was significantly higher when a male interviewer, regardless of his education, conducted the interview, compared with low educated female interviewers. This finding has implications for survey-based studies, which measure factual political knowledge, for example attempts to limit such effects should be made during the interviewer briefing.

Stereotype Threat and Its Problems: Theory Misspecification in Research, Consequences, and Remedies

Despite the explosive growth in stereotype threat (ST) research over the decades, a substantive amount of variability in ST effects still cannot be explained by extant research. While some attribute this unexplained heterogeneity to yet unidentified ST mechanisms, we explored an alternate hypothesis that ST theory is often misspecified in experimental research design, which introduces experimental noise (and hence variability) in stereotype threat effects unlikely to be explained by extant moderators. This study used multilevel meta-analysis to examine the impact of ST misspecification in research design on ST outcomes. Results revealed that ST effects were artificially inflated in studies that failed to include essential conditions necessary for its occurrence. Because most studies in the meta-analysis had either excluded or partially included these conditions, findings from this study suggest that ST effects on women’s performance might be smaller than previously reported in primary and secondary (meta-analytic) studies.

Stereotype Threat Among Black Men Following Exposure to Rap Music

Stereotype threat theory argues that reminders of negative stereotypes about one’s stigmatized identity can undermine performance, but few studies have examined this phenomenon among Black Americans. Drawing from the literature on the impact of mass media on stereotype activation, we examine whether exposure to rap music induces stereotype threat among Black men. In two studies, incidental exposure to violent/misogynistic rap, but not conscious hip-hop or pop music, impaired Black (but not White) men’s cognitive performance (Experiments 1 and 2), but only when the artist was ostensibly Black (vs. White; Experiment 2). These effects were conditionally mediated by stereotype activation, such that listening to a Black (but not White) rapper activated negative stereotypes about Black people for both Black and White participants but only impaired performance among Black participants (Experiment 2). This suggests that exposure to some forms of artistic expression may activate culturally shared stereotypes and obstruct academic success among stigmatized groups.

Women on the edge of a breakthrough? A stereotype threat theory of women’s angel investing

The extent to which women participate in the angel investment market has become an important topic of research and policy interest. Based on UK survey data, we demonstrate that there are systematic but not unequivocal differences between women and men investors on a number of key investor and investment characteristics. We also report indicative evidence that members of women-only networks do differ from women who join mixed networks. Drawing on these results, we develop a stereotype threat theory perspective on women’s angel investing which highlights the cues, consequences, outcomes and responses to stereotype threat. Specifically, we theorise that stereotype threat influences women’s widely reported lower participation in the angel investment market. In addition, stereotype threat theory helps explain both women’s overall active involvement in the angel investment market and their participation in women-only investor networks. We conclude that there is a case for women-only angel networks and training programmes to mitigate the performance and participation consequences of stereotype threat.

Age identity, stereotypes and older consumers’ service experiences

PurposeThis study aims to use the lens of the stereotype threat theory to explore older consumers’ age identity and experiences with service providers.Design/methodology/approachThis study used semi-structured interviews with Australian consumers aged between 55 and 69. Data were examined using thematic analysis.FindingsOlder consumers justify a younger cognitive age by distancing themselves from the negative stereotypes associated with ageing and by associating themselves with attitudes and behaviours consistent with a younger age identity. Older consumers are confronted with age-based stereotype threats in a services context through four practices. Exposure to these threats results in service failure and can have a negative impact on both consumers’ ability to function effectively as consumers and their overall well-being.Research limitations/implicationsA more diverse sample is required to identify the extent to which age-based stereotype threats are experienced and which services marketing practices have the most detrimental impact on older consumers.Practical implicationsThe findings provide insight for services marketers seeking to effectively cater for older consumers and have implications for service staff training, service technology and communications.Social implicationsThe findings have implications for the well-being of older consumers in terms of their self-efficacy and self-esteem as well as their ability to function effectively as consumers.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the nascent understanding of older consumers’ experiences and their expectations of service interactions and advertising communication. The findings also extend the literature on service failure by demonstrating how age-based stereotypes threaten age identity, resulting in a negative customer experience.

True performance: reducing stereotype threat effect in older adults’ clinical assessment of memory

ABSTRACT Empirical studies suggest that memory loss with age is based not only on biological, but also on contextual factors. In line with the stereotype threat (ST) theory, it is argued that the features of the standard clinical situation may contribute to an underestimation of memory performance in older adults (OA). To prevent these shortcomings, we proposed and tested two different interventions that are easy to implement in clinical settings: individuation and self-handicapping. Results indicate that the individuation intervention appears to be a promising solution to alleviate the ST burden in clinical assessment of memory.

Understanding the role of culture and gender stereotypes in women entrepreneurship through the lens of the stereotype threat theory

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the role of culture and gender stereotypes in the entrepreneurial journey of women entrepreneurs. It specifically focuses on women entrepreneurs in the Nabdam district of Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted the qualitative approach and collected data from 20 women entrepreneurs in the Nabdam district in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Data were collected through face-to-face in-depth interviews which were analysed according to identified themes.FindingsThe key finding of the study is that culture, through gender stereotypes, acts as a “push” motivational factor of women entrepreneurship and breeds more necessity-driven women entrepreneurs than opportunity-driven ones. However, gender stereotyping is found to be a bane to entrepreneurial success of several women-owned enterprises. Due to gender stereotypes, countless women entrepreneurs are sceptical about venturing into “unknown sector” sectors not familiar and operating larger businesses that are likely to yield more profits.Originality/valueCurrently, there is less research on entrepreneurship and culture/gender stereotypes until now in Ghana, and this study seeks to bridge this gap. The results are discussed linking what is pertaining in other economic landscapes, thus avoiding just national perspectives. This is the first known study conducted in the study area that looks at entrepreneurship through the lens of culture-gender stereotypes.

The ironic effects of stigmatizing smoking: combining stereotype threat theory with behavioral pharmacology.

Public service announcements often create media messages intended to stigmatize negative behaviors to reduce and prevent these behaviors. Drawing on social and cognitive psychology, we hypothesize that stigmatizing messages can create stereotype threat would be associated with shorter latency to first cigarette in the laboratory compared to the control condition. A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial in which participants completed two smoking lapse tasks, one at baseline and one post-intervention/control. An experimental psychopharmacology laboratory in the western United States. A community sample of non-treatment-seeking daily smokers (n=77) received either a stereotype threat (n=39) or neutral/control (n=38) message. Participants received either a stereotype threat message that stigmatized smoking or a control message. The primary outcome measure was participants' ability to delay smoking during the smoking lapse task in the experimental session FINDINGS: The difference in delay time during the experimental session at the point where 50% of each group had smoked was 3minutes. Cox proportional hazard models revealed that participants in the stereotype threat group were significantly less able to delay initiating smoking compared to the control group (hazard ratio=0.504, P=0.010, 95% confidence interval=0.30, 0.85), after controlling for baseline latency to smoke. Messages that elicit negative stereotypes of smokers operated as 'smoking-promoting messages' in the context of our controlled laboratory investigation.

Stereotype threat-effects for Turkish-origin migrants in Germany: Taking stock of cumulative research evidence

Turkish-origin migrants on average show lower academic performance than Germans. This achievement gap cannot be fully explained by socio-economic differences between the groups. Negative competence stereotypes about Turkish-origin students predict the causal attributions that German preservice teachers make for migrants’ academic underperformance. Specifically, the more strongly preservice teachers endorse negative competence stereotypes, the more likely they are to attribute academic underperformance of Turkish-origin migrants to the migrants themselves and less to the educational system. Stereotype threat theory posits that the activation of stereotypes in test situations can reduce the performance of members of the negatively stereotyped group. Based on this theory, we propose that negative stereotypes provide a social-psychological explanation for the academic underperformance of Turkish-origin migrants compared to Germans. A series of six experiments conducted within a research project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research investigated stereotype threat effects for Turkish-origin migrants. Two new moderator variables were identified: implicit theory of intelligence and vertical collectivism. A meta-analysis of the six studies showed a small, non-significant mean effect for stereotype threat main effects, but a significant medium-sized mean effect for moderated stereotype threat effects. Limitations and practical implications of stereotype threat effects in educational settings are discussed.

Stereotype Threat and Gender Differences in Biology

Stereotype threat theory (STT) presents a potential explanation for differences in achievement in math and science for women. Specifically, STT postulates that the perceived risk of confirming a negative stereotype about an individual’s identity group acts as a psychological burden that negatively impacts performance. This study is the third in a series of studies examining the impact of ST on gender differences in science. The present study tested the impact of stereotype threat (ST) on gender differences in biology achievement, self-efficacy, motivation, and domain identification using a four-group, quasi-experimental design. 83 introductory-level college biology students were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 ST conditions including an explicit ST condition, an implicit ST condition, a reverse ST condition, and a nullified ST condition. Results indicated that there were no gender differences by ST condition; however, overall, the women identified more with the field.

Do Findings from Laboratory Experiments on Preferential Selection Generalize to Cognitively-Oriented Tasks? A Test of Two Perspectives

This investigation examined whether previous findings in preferential selection using laboratory simulations, which have used leadership tasks and perceived performance, generalize to cognitively oriented tasks and actual performance. We tested competing perspectives derived from two theoretical accounts of stereotype threat theory: regulatory focus and executive control interference. Non-stigmatized (Whites and Asians) and stigmatized (Hispanics and Blacks; total n = 513) individuals first took a cognitive ability test to be selected for a subsequent task and a chance to win a cash prize. They were then randomly assigned to an explanation concerning selection for a proofreading task based on merit, gender, or race. Results tended to support the regulatory focus view. The main study showed there were no significant differences in performance quantity or quality among participants who were selected based on merit or gender. Among those selected on race, stigmatized participants had lower performance quantity but higher performance quality (i.e., they were slower but more accurate) than non-stigmatized participants. A follow-up study (n = 252) found that stigmatized people selected based on race had more prevention concerns than non-stigmatized people. We discuss previous findings in preferential selection research utilizing experiments and conclude that the regulatory focus perspective can account for these results. Our research also shows that by using different outcomes, it is possible to qualify the allegedly harmful effects of preferential selection. This study is the first to experimentally examine the effects of preferential selection on actual task performance in cognitively oriented tasks.

ASSESSING THE ROLE OF CULTURE IN FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY SUB-SAHARAN SOCIETY: INSIGHTS FROM THE NABADAM DISTRICT OF GHANA

This study explores the role of cultural practices on female entrepreneurship with some insights from the Nabdam district of Ghana. The views of twenty (20) female entrepreneurs were gathered through face-to-face in-depth interviews, which were analyzed according to identified themes. The key finding of the study is that, because of cultural influences and norms, entrepreneurship is perceived to be a field for uneducated women as highly educated women seek formal employment than self-employment. Also, the value and respect for traditions was found to be a limiting factor to the growth and expansion of female-owned enterprises. Therefore, this study concludes that the general poor performance of female entrepreneurs in the study area can be attributed to long-held traditional beliefs and practices rather than managerial inability on the part of women. The stereotype threat theory is used to explain the state of female entrepreneurship in the study area. Therefore, there is a call on policy makers to formulate policies that could eliminate the negative impact of culture on female-owned businesses.

Chronic Stereotype Threat Is Associated With Mathematical Achievement on Representative Sample of Secondary Schoolgirls: The Role of Gender Identification, Working Memory, and Intellectual Helplessness.

Stereotype threat affects performance in many different groups across many different domains. Despite a large body of experimental research on situational stereotype threat, little attention has been paid to the consequences of repeated experience of stereotype threat. Using structural equation modeling on data from a representative sample of girls from secondary schools, the current research examined the relations of chronic stereotype threat with mathematical achievement, and effectiveness of working memory functions. Moving beyond past theory, this study examined a new mechanism by which chronic stereotype threat decreases school achievement – namely intellectual helplessness. We assumed that repeated experience of stereotype threat works as intellectual helplessness training. After the phase of cognitive mobilization, cognitive exhaustion appears, because the individual has no gain from intense cognitive effort. Corroborating previous research on acute stereotype threat, we demonstrated that chronic stereotype threat is negatively associated with mathematical achievement. Additionally, it was also associated with lower effectiveness of working memory functions, which seems to show depletion of working memory as an effect of chronic stereotype threat. The results also demonstrated that both mediational paths from chronic stereotype threat to mathematical achievement: through working memory depletion and through intellectual helplessness were significant but only for girls that were highly identified with their gender group. In sum, we extended a well-established model of acute stereotype threat to its chronic version and suggested a new mechanism of chronic stereotype threat, which involves intellectual helplessness. Implications for stereotype threat theory and educational practice are discussed.

Reducing the Impact of Stereotype Threat on Women‘s Math Performance: Are Two Strategies Better Than One?

INTRODUCTION: Two studies examined whether stereotype threat impairs women's math performance and whether concurrent threat reduction strategies can be used to offset this effect. METHOD: In Study 1, collegiate men and women (N = 100) watched a video purporting that males and females performed equally well (gender-fair) or males outperformed females (gender differences) on an imminent math test. In Study 2, (N = 44) women viewed the gender differences video, followed by misattribution (cue present, absent) and self-affirmation (present, absent) manipulations, before taking the aforesaid test. RESULTS: In the initial study, women underperformed men on the test after receiving the gender differences video, whereas no gender differences emerged in the gender-fair condition. In Study 2, affirming the self led to better performance than not doing so. Planned contrasts indicated, however, that only women receiving a misattribution cue and self-affirmation opportunity outperformed their counterparts not given these reduction strategies. DISCUSSION: These findings are discussed relative to Stereotype Threat Theory and educational implications are provided.

Stereotype threat as a psychological feature of work–life conflict

Much remains unknown about the boundary conditions of stereotype threat and the factors that influence how it manifests in various domains. In particular, non-performance-related responses to stereotype threat have been relatively neglected, and little is known about stereotype threats in domains where group membership is less stable over the life course. Using both correlational and experimental methods, these studies use the work–life conflict domain to contribute to stereotype threat theory along these dimensions. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that stereotype threat based on caregiver status predicts increased use of coping strategies that involve sacrifices in work productivity, family caregiving, and personal well-being. Studies 1 through 3 suggest that formal flexibility accommodation policies (such as the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993) may not be an effective intervention in stereotype threat in the work–life conflict domain; providing informal social cues of support for employees with caregiving responsibilities, however, may be effective.

Employee voice mechanisms for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender expatriation: the role of Employee-Resource Groups (ERGs) and allies

Recent literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) expatriates has largely taken an employee perspective. Less attention has been devoted to organizational mechanisms supporting LGBT voice opportunities for global mobility. In this study, we use respondent data from 15 LGBT employees in combination with data from five global mobility managers to examine the role of Employee Resource Groups. Using the depth, scope and level of voice to frame the study in relation to stereotype threat theory, the findings show that discrimination and stigmatization are prevalent features affecting voice. The findings advance three distinct contributions concerning marginalized (LGBT) employee voices about expatriation: the importance of ‘informal’ social dialogue, the shallow ‘depth’ to voice decision-making roles about LGBT expatriation, and a consideration of ‘silence’ in voice literatures.

Social Representations, News Exposure, and Knowledge Gaps

ObjectiveStudies show that public service broadcasters narrow knowledge gaps between politically interested and disinterested because such contexts encourage incidental learning. This reasoning, however, fails to explain why gendered knowledge differences persist in environments that equalize learning. Using stereotype threat theory, I argue that news content emits symbolic gender cues that encourage or discourage women to become politically informed.MethodsEmploying European Election Study 2009 voter data (N = 27,000), and multilingual news content analyses from 27 E.U. member states, I test whether more egalitarian representation of women as newsmakers correlates with narrower gaps between men and women.ResultsAggregate and multilevel models show that greater representation of women as newsmakers correlates with smaller gaps in news exposure and political knowledge. Analyses also consider competing explanations such as women's electoral representation, education, labor force participation, and knowledge item guessing rates.ConclusionFindings support the theoretical expectations regarding symbolic cues and knowledge gaps.

Stereotype Threat Theory: Do we have a good theory for organizational research?

Over the last two decades, stereotype threat theory (STT), a novel intriguing perspective to understand intergroup differences in social and economic outcomes (e.g., intellectual and ability tasks)...

Do Mass Mediated Stereotypes Harm Members of Negatively Stereotyped Groups? A Meta-Analytical Review on Media-Generated Stereotype Threat and Stereotype Lift

Stereotype threat theory suggests that negative stereotypes and devaluing content in the media impair the cognitive and educational achievement of members of the negatively portrayed groups (e.g., Latino Americans, women), whereas nonstereotyped recipients are not affected or even show reversed effects (stereotype lift). A meta-analysis of 33 experiments ( n = 1,831) yielded an overall mean effect size of d = −0.38 (random effects model) in support of the stereotype threat assumption. The results further involve a check on publication bias and moderator analyses with respect to the portrayed group, the dependent variable (academic identification vs. performance), the media format (ads vs. news vs. entertainment), and the world region in which the study was conducted. A second meta-analysis on the stereotype lift hypothesis yielded an overall mean effect size of d = 0.17 ( k = 12, n = 589, nonsignificant, random effects model). Our meta-analytical findings are in support of stereotype threat theory, indicating that negative stereotypes and devaluing content in the media impair members of negatively stereotyped groups, whereas nonmembers are not affected. Implications and open research questions are outlined.

When do Gender Stereotypes Impair Math Performance? A Study of Stereotype Threat Among Ugandan Adolescents

The present study examined the effect of gender-based stereotype threat (ST) on the mathematics performance of high school students in Uganda, East Africa, as moderated by students’ stereotype endorsement and/or their perceptions of stereotypic expectancies by others. Participants were 190 ninth grade students (age 14–15, senior 2, in Uganda) from all-female and coed boarding schools. Only perceived stereotypic expectancies by others significantly moderated ST effects on performance. A reminder of cross-gender comparisons led both young women and young men to underperform if they assumed that the researchers expected their own gender to do worse than the other gender. Importantly, students’ perceptions of the stereotypic expectancies of authority figures (i.e. researchers) mattered more for predicting their math performance than did students’ own endorsement of stereotypes. Collectively, these findings support a basic assumption of ST theory– that knowledge of a cultural stereotype is a prerequisite to the ST experience. Therefore, studies conducted with younger samples and in diverse cultural contexts should establish participants’ awareness of the stereotype in question. Also, regarding gender and math stereotypes, it should not be assumed that males will always be immune from stereotype-based performance deficits on quantitative tasks when tested in different cultures. Finally, results suggest that conveying an expectation that young men and young women have equal ability and potential might be important to preventing ST among younger age groups.