Stereotype threat and arousal: effects on women's math performance
Laurie T O'Brien1, Christian S Crandall
1University of Kansas, USA. obrien@psych.ucsb.edu
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|June 11, 2004
Summary
Stereotype threat increases arousal, improving performance on easy tasks but hindering performance on difficult tasks for women. This arousal-based effect was not observed in men.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Performance Studies
Background:
- Arousal theories predict performance decrements on difficult tasks and increments on easy tasks.
- Stereotype threat, a phenomenon where individuals underperform due to negative stereotypes associated with their group, is hypothesized to be linked to arousal.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that heightened arousal mediates the effects of stereotype threat on task performance.
- To investigate whether stereotype threat differentially impacts performance on easy versus difficult math tests for women.
Main Methods:
- An experiment was conducted involving participants taking both difficult and easy math tests.
- Participants were assigned to either a 'gender differences' condition (inducing stereotype threat in women) or a 'no differences' control condition.
- Performance on math tests was compared between conditions for both male and female participants.
Main Results:
- Women in the 'gender differences' condition showed improved performance on the easy math test compared to the control group.
- Women in the 'gender differences' condition demonstrated decreased performance on the difficult math test compared to the control group.
- Men's performance on both math tests was not significantly affected by the 'gender differences' manipulation.
Conclusions:
- The findings support an arousal-based explanation for stereotype threat effects, aligning with established arousal theories.
- The results indicate that stereotype threat's impact on performance is moderated by task difficulty and is specific to the threatened group.
- Alternative explanations, including expectancy, evaluation apprehension, and persistence, were not supported by the data.
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