Stereotype threat facts for kids

Stereotype threat is when someone worries about confirming a negative stereotype about a group they belong to. This worry can make them perform worse. Claude Steele first talked about this idea in 1995.

How It Was Discovered

Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson were two researchers who studied this idea. They did a research study with college students. Some students were African-American, and some were European-American.

The students took a hard test. The researchers wanted to see if telling students the test measured intelligence would change their scores. They found that when African-American students were told the test measured intelligence, they did not do as well. This showed that the worry about stereotypes could affect how well someone performs.

Examples of Stereotype Threat

Many studies have shown how stereotype threat works.

• Chess Players: In one study, girls who were reminded of the idea that girls are not as good at chess as boys played worse.
• Sports Performance: Another study looked at white men and African-American men in sports. White men did worse if they thought the task was about natural athletic ability. African-American men did worse if they thought the task was about intelligence in the sport. This shows how different stereotypes can affect different groups.
• Driving Simulation: In an experiment, women were asked to use a driving simulation. Some were told the study was looking into why men are better drivers. These women were twice as likely to hit a pedestrian in the game. This shows how a stereotype can make people more nervous and make mistakes.

How Stereotypes Affect Us

Stereotype threat can have a negative effect on people.

• Lower Performance: It can make people do worse on tests or tasks.
• Feeling Different: It can also make people feel like they don't belong to their group. For example, a girl might start to think, "I'm not a math person" because of stereotypes about girls and math.

But there are also positive effects related to stereotypes:

• Stereotype Lift: This is when someone does better because they are exposed to a negative stereotype about a group they are NOT part of. It can make them feel more confident.
• Stereotype Boost: This happens when someone does better because they hear a positive stereotype about their own group. For example, if a group is known for being good at something, members of that group might perform better.

A simple way to help stop the bad effects of stereotype threat is to teach people about it. Knowing what it is can help people understand why they might feel nervous and perform better.

Images for kids

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  This graph shows how stereotype threat can affect math test scores for girls and boys.

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  When women felt stereotype threat during a math test, a part of their brain called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) became more active.