Michi, Paulina, Rudy

IBS2 Psychology Block B

Crane, J., & Hannibal, C. (2009). Ib psychology course companion. London: Oxford University Press.
Definition of Stereotypes &
The Effect of Stereotypes onan Individuals Performance

A STEREOTYPE is defined as a social perception of an individual in terms of group membership or
physical attributes. It is a generalization that is made about a group and then attributed to members of that
group. It may be positive or negative.
It is also a form of social categorization that affects the behavior of those who hold the stereotype and those
who are labeled by the stereotype. It is also described as a result of schema processing.
EXAMPLE: Korean people are good at Math. African Americans are good at sports.
A STEREOTYPE THREAT occurs when one is in a situation where there is a threat of being
judged or treated stereotypically, or a fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that
stereotype.
EXAMPLE: A student expected do well on a test performs badly due to pressure.




STEELE AND ARONSON (1995)
Findings:African Americans performed significantly
worse on a 30-minute multiple choice task when they
were told it was testing their actual verbal ability, than
when it was the way they solve the problems.
Conclusion:Stereotype threat can affect the members of
just about any social or cultural group, if the members
believe in the stereotype. This can explain why some
racial and social groups believe they are more or less
intelligent than others. Believing in such stereotypes
can harm the performance of these groups as well.
STEELE (1997)
Explanation:According to Steele et al. (1997),
stereotype threat turns on spotlight anxiety, which
causes emotional distress and pressure that may
undermine performance. Students under the
stereotype threat often underperform and limit their
educational prospects.
Evaluation:Wouldnt it still be up to the people
themselves to perceive the stereotype? Shouldnt
individual differences be taken into account?

HERRNSTEIN (1994)

In 1994, a controversial book, The Bell Curve (by
Richard J. Herrnstein) was published. It discussed the
IQs of different ethnic groups. One of the stereotypes
was that all Asians are very intelligent.

However, despite this being a positive stereotype, this
could also pose as a stereotype threat. Because Asians
are therefore expected to be intelligent, this might place
pressure on them and thus make them perform worse
on tests measuring intellectual ability.
SPENCER ET AL. (1977)

Aim and Hypothesis:Tested the effect of stereotype
threat on intellectual performance by giving a Math
test to people who were deemed strong in Math.
They predicted that women under the stereotype
threat would underperform compared to men.
Findings:Women in the experiment significantly
underperformed compared to equally qualified men.
However, in literature skills, the two groups
performed equally well. They explained this in that
women did not have a stereotype threat in that area.