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'Be prepared': an implemental mindset for alleviating social-identity threat
Tara C Dennehy1, Avi Ben-Zeev, Noriko Tanigawa
1Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|April 15, 2014
Summary
Priming an implemental mindset helps individuals from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds overcome stereotype threat. This strategy promotes equitable performance by reducing fear of negative evaluation during intellectual tasks.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Stereotype threat arises from fear of negative evaluation, hindering task focus in socially devalued groups.
- Existing research highlights the negative impact of stereotype threat on academic and intellectual performance.
- Mindset interventions show potential for mitigating psychological threats in performance settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if an implemental mindset can counteract stereotype threat effects in low socioeconomic status (SES) individuals.
- To examine the influence of mindset priming on performance and confidence in an intellectually threatening task.
- To assess the potential of implemental mindset priming for promoting equity among diverse SES groups.
Main Methods:
- Participants from low and high SES backgrounds (based on maternal education; SESm) were recruited.
- An implemental (vs. deliberative) mindset was primed before participants completed a speeded mental arithmetic test.
- Performance and confidence levels were measured during the intellectually threatening task.
Main Results:
- Low-SESm individuals performed comparably to high-SESm individuals when primed with an implemental mindset.
- Confidence levels were similar between low-SESm and high-SESm participants under the implemental mindset condition.
- These findings suggest the implemental mindset mitigates the negative effects of stereotype threat on performance and confidence.
Conclusions:
- Priming an implemental mindset can be an effective strategy to help low-SES individuals overcome stereotype threat.
- This intervention shows promise in creating more equitable conditions in intellectually demanding situations.
- Future research should explore the long-term effects and broader applications of implemental mindset interventions.
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