In the textbook, the authors discuss the scientific study of people. One particular study was an experimental research study conducted by Claude Steele. Claude Steele concluded the phenomena behind “stereotype threat”. Stereotype threat is a performance based personality process. Stereotype threat does not discriminate upon a specific individual based upon, race, class, or sexual orientation. All of these individuals can be affected in one way or another. This process can lead to differing performance situations, thinking processes and even emotions. According to the textbook, “If an individual is a member of a group for which there is a stereotype, and if the individual thinks of the stereotype, then a psychological threat arises. There is a threat in the individual’s mind that he or she might confirm the stereotype” (Cervone & Pervin, 2013, pg. 67). As a young woman of color, I can relate to this. I also have a friend who has dealt with stereotype threat and his performance has been dramatically affected because of his thinking process. My friend felt that because he was …show more content…
The textbook states, “There is a threat in the individual’s mind that he or she might confirm the stereotype. In many circumstances, this stereotype threat may interfere with one’s performance” (Cervone & Pervin, 2013). My friend felt that he needed to participate in extra running workouts and increase the amount of lifting that he was doing. His tack team had already come up with an organized lifting and running schedule, but he felt that he needed to do more to reach the same level as his teammates. This in-fact did not benefit him in the end. When track season came around, he was already burnt out from doing so many other extra workouts. His times for his events did not get any better, and he felt that the reason why other people were beating him was because they had an advantage because of their skin
perpetuate in different social groups. Stereotype threat, as defined by Steele, is “being at risk of
Steele makes a definition of stereotype threat that “This means that whenever we’re in a situation where a bad stereotype about one of our own identities could be applied to us”. For example, people always thinks that black people are dangerous; white people have a worse “natural athletic ability” than black people; Female are not good at math. These examples mean that identity contingencies always makes people have a constant impression of the kind of group people, but sometimes, these impression are not truth. Crosley-Corcoran says, “ So when that feminist told me I had “white privilege,” I told her that my white skin didn’t do shit to prevent me from experiencing poverty.” Here, she uese emotional strategy to express her disapproval of the feminist thought that she gets a lot benefits from white privilege. People always think that white people have privilege than black people, so white people have a better live circumstance than black people. However, according to Crosley-Corcoran poor situation, she doesn’t like other rich white people can have a comfortable circumstance to live because she doesn’t have enough money. Here, this thing also proved that identity
The following essay will discuss the argument that the current pre-dominance of black athletes in the world of sprinting is a social and not a racial phenomenon. Firstly the article will examine the physical differences between black and white athletes. Secondly, this article will discuss stereotypical beliefs in the world of sport. This essay will give an objective examination of the above issues and to challenge beliefs held and conveyed by individuals.
Stereotypes are everywhere and can often create problems for people, however they become even more detrimental to teens, especially at schools. Writer and science correspondent for the NRA, Shankar Vedantam, in his article, “How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance,” explains that stereotypes can hurt the performance of the person that it is associated with. He supports his claim by first explaining that how well people do on tests are determined by who administers the questions, then he explains that studies show that when people take tests and they are reminded of negative stereotypes that associate with them, then they don’t do as well, and finally he states that the studies are being widely ignored by all the people who should take heed of the findings, such as test makers and college acceptance people. Vedantam’s purpose is to tell you about the research conducted by Huang in order to inform you that stereotypes can affect performance on tests. In my 9th grade class at Point Loma High School, we were given questions about stereotypes from our teacher to interview two students.
We see people in a certain way. When we see them, our opinions about them will likely be influenced by many different things. These influencing factors might include the way they dress, their behavior, or how they talk. However, what if we form an opinion about someone before we have even met them? What if this prevents us from accurately seeing real person? Playwriter Luis Valdez takes a look at this in one of his earliest works. Here, I will discuss stereotypes and how the Luis Valdez comments on these stereotypes through is play “Los Vendidos.” I will analyze the play’s characters and what stereotypes each character represents. Finally, I will discuss Luis Valdez’ past and how he was influenced to write this
The integrated threat theory model consists of four types of threats that can lead to prejudice. These threats are: realistic threats, symbolic threats, intergroup anxiety, and negative stereotypes. Realistic threats are posed by the outgroup and have several types of consequence and impact. They can either be threats of war, threats to political and/or economic power of the ingroup, and threats to physical and/or material well-being of the ingroup and its members. Symbolic threats is usually based on perceived group differences in morals, values, standards, beliefs, and attitudes. Symbolic threats are also threats to the ingroup’s worldview and these threats arise because the ingroup believes that its system of values are morally correct.
Schmader, T., & Johns, M. (2003). Converging evidence that stereotype threat reduces working memory capacity. Journal of personality and social psychology, 85(3), 440–52. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.3.440
One very controversial topic in the field of social psychology is the debate as to whether stereotyping is inevitable or not. When it comes to the concept of stereotyping the idea of prejudice often comes up making it very important to understand the definitions of both stereotyping and prejudice. A stereotype is a “widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing”. In other words, it is a prototypical schema of a person or group. When defining prejudice, the definition is “a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience”, therefore, it can be thought of as an unjustifiable/irrational opinion that someone possess. Being that there is no definite
Fred Edmund Jandt (2003), the word “stereotype” was first used to show the judgments made about individuals on the origin of their racial background. Today the expression is more commonly used to pass on to events made on the basis of a groups association. Psychologists have attempted to give explanations of stereotyping as errors that our brains make in the judgment of other people that are related to those mistakes our brains make in the view of illustration illusions. When information is blurred, the brain frequently reaches the incorrect conclusion. (p.77)
“Two dangers arise when in-group members have little exposure to out-groups members or knowledge of out-group history” (Ramirez-Berg pg. 18). One is that history can be replaced by other group’s experience. Two is the stereotypical image can be taken as normal or even natural. The five functions of stereotyping that are developed and passed on to others. The first two are focused on a personal level. One is cognitive function of the environment. Two is motivational function protecting values. “The remaining three are at group level, where stereotypes contribute to the creation and maintenance of group beliefs which are then used…” (Ramirez-Berg pg. 28). Three is explaining in a large-scale social event. Four is to justify action. Five is to differentiate in and out
Ryan, Katherine E., and Allison M. Ryan. "Psychological Processes Underlying Stereotype Threat And Standardized Math Test Performance." Educational Psychologist 40.1 (2005): 53-63. Education Research Complete. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Inzlicht, Michael. Stereotype threat: theory, process, and application. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.
Prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping are important topics at the cause of debating within social psychology. A stereotype is a generalization about a group of people, in which certain traits cling to all members, regardless of actual individual variation (Akert, Aronson, & Wilson, 2010). As humans, people assign objects and individuals into categories to organize the environment. Individuals do this for not only organization, but also survival. Is stereotyping inevitable? That is the question; according to Devine (2007), it is, but Lepore and Brown (2007) have to disagree. Devine believes that “stereotyping is automatic, which makes it inevitable.” On the other hand, Lepore and Brown are not convinced that stereotyping is automatic, and have claimed, after observation, that it depends on the individual.
Stereotype threat is present in our everyday lives and it prevents people from doing things to their fullest abilities. It is the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about you resulting in weaker performance. An example where stereotype threat exists is in the case where African Americans do poorly on tests compared to Caucasian individuals. This occurs because the stereotype is that African Americans are intellectually inferior to Caucasian people. In a setting where the negative stereotype is brought to mind, African Americans will perform poorly on tests when in fact they are able to perform equally as well if not better than Caucasian individuals. (Article 1) Stereotype threat limits individuals in their performance in academics, sports or even something like driving. By reducing stereotype threat, performance in many areas can improve and people can perform tasks to their fullest potentials. Stereotype threat leads to underachievement in academic and work related situations. People may feel they cannot rise above the stereotype and become limited in their successes. (article 1 I think) The purpose of this paper is to inform on stereotype threat and how to reduce it, as well as to introduce my own investigation aimed at reducing stereotype threat.
Most people find stereotypes to be obnoxious, especially when they have to do with sensitive subjects like gender or race. “Stereotyping is a generalization about a group or category of people that can have a powerful influence on how we perceive others and their communication behaviors” (Floyd, 61). Because they underestimate the differences among individuals in a group, stereotyping can lead to inaccurate and offensive perceptions of other people. Although stereotypes are prevalent in almost every society, becoming aware of our perceptions of others, as well as differentiating between both positive and negative stereotypes can help us overcome those stereotypes.