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Performance-related feedback as a strategy to overcome spontaneous occupational stereotypes
Eimear Finnegan1,2, Alan Garnham1, Jane Oakhill1
1School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|August 14, 2023
Summary
Performance feedback training effectively reduces spontaneous occupational stereotyping. This strategy improves accuracy in identifying individuals who defy traditional gender roles, even after a week.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Spontaneous occupational stereotyping influences social cognition.
- Identifying individuals in non-traditional roles can be challenging due to ingrained stereotypes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate performance-related feedback as a method to overcome spontaneous occupational stereotyping.
- To assess the effectiveness of feedback in modifying responses to stereotype-incongruent social role and professional terms.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted using a task where participants judged if role nouns and kinship terms could refer to the same person.
- Feedback training involved accuracy information and cumulative scores.
- Performance was compared between stereotype-congruent, incongruent, and neutral conditions.
Main Results:
- Without feedback, stereotype-incongruent pairings were responded to slower and less accurately.
- Feedback training significantly improved performance on trained and novel stimuli.
- These improvements persisted for at least one week.
Conclusions:
- Performance-related feedback is a potent strategy for mitigating spontaneous occupational stereotype activation.
- This feedback mechanism can lead to reduced reliance on occupational stereotypes in cognitive processing.
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