Effects of attachment security priming on women's math performance.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Attachment Theory

Background:

• Activating attachment security can mitigate psychological threats.
• Stereotype threat negatively impacts performance, particularly for women in STEM.
• Attachment security priming involves subtle cues to foster a sense of safety and connection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if attachment security priming can buffer women against stereotype threat.
• To examine the effects of security priming on women's math performance.
• To compare security priming with neutral and positive affect priming.

Main Methods:

• Three studies were conducted: a pilot study (N=151), a laboratory study (N=474), and an online study (N=827).
• Participants were primed with attachment security, neutral affect, or positive affect.
• Math performance and state adult attachment were measured.

Main Results:

• Attachment security priming improved women's math performance in the pilot and laboratory studies, especially for those identifying with math.
• Men's math performance was unaffected by security priming.
• In the online study, security priming increased attachment security scores but did not buffer stereotype threat effects.

Conclusions:

• Attachment security priming shows potential for enhancing women's math performance.
• The buffering effect of security priming against stereotype threat is not consistently observed.
• Findings suggest security priming is an interpersonal process with limited impact on intergroup threat dynamics.