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Sebastián-Tirado A, Félix-Esbrí S, Forn C, Sanchis-Segura C. Are gender-science stereotypes barriers for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics? Exploring when, how, and to whom in an experimentally-controlled setting. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1219012. [PMID: 37621930 PMCID: PMC10445161 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Based on Social Cognitive Career Theory principles, the present study sought to investigate whether stereotype threat experiences could act as a barrier and reduce the persistence of women in math-intensive activities. More specifically, we assessed whether the experimental activation of stereotypes about women's lower math capabilities affected the performance, persistence, and self-selected difficulty of engineering students in a math task which required sustained effort. We also evaluated the relationships between these effects and the participants' pre-testing gender-science stereotypes and math self-concept. A sample of 340 engineering students (175 and 165 self-identified as males and females, respectively) were recruited and randomly assigned to a control (Con) or stereotype threat (StA) condition to form four similarly sized groups. All participants rated their self-concept in four academic domains (math, chemistry, physics, and coding), completed the gender-science Implicit Association Test, and a "reading comprehension task" that served to promote the stereotype threat manipulation immediately before facing a modified version of the Math Effort Task (M-MET). We observed that, in the control condition, M-MET performance, self-selected difficulty, and persistence were similar in female and male participants, independent of their gender-science implicit stereotypes but correlated to their math self-concept scores. In contrast, the StA condition triggered opposite effects in female and male students, so they showed decreased/enhanced M-MET performance and self-selected difficulty, respectively. This experimental condition also resulted in enhanced persistence of the male students without affecting the number of trials completed by female students. These effects were correlated with the strength of the participants' gender-science implicit stereotypes but not with their math self-concept scores. In fact, as revealed by finer-grain analyses, stereotype threat only had a significant impact on individuals harboring stereotypical gender-science implicit associations. Therefore, it is concluded that: (1) stereotypes can promote differences between male and female engineering students in their performance, self-confidence, and persistence in math-related activities; (2) These effects seem to be more prominent in individuals implicitly perceiving science as a masculine domain. The relevance of these findings to explain women's enhanced abandonment rates of math-intensive studies is discussed.
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Bowman NA, Logel C, LaCosse J, Jarratt L, Canning EA, Emerson KTU, Murphy MC. Gender representation and academic achievement among STEM-interested students in college STEM courses. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING 2022; 59:1876-1900. [PMID: 36591375 PMCID: PMC9790698 DOI: 10.1002/tea.21778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Substantial gender equity gaps in postsecondary degree completion persist within many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, and these disparities have not narrowed during the 21st century. Various explanations of this phenomenon have been offered; one possibility that has received limited attention is that the sparse representation of women itself has adverse effects on the academic achievement-and ultimately the persistence and graduation-of women who take STEM courses. This study explored the relationship between two forms of gender representation (i.e., the proportion of female students within a course and the presence of a female instructor) and grades within a sample of 11,958 STEM-interested undergraduates enrolled in 8686 different STEM courses at 20 colleges and universities. Female student representation within a course predicted greater academic achievement in STEM for all students, and these findings were generally stronger among female students than male students. Female students also consistently benefitted more than male students from having a female STEM instructor. These findings were largely similar across a range of student and course characteristics and were robust to different analytic approaches; a notable exception was that female student representation had particularly favorable outcomes for female students (relative to male students) within mathematics/statistics and computer science courses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas A. Bowman
- Department of Educational Policy and Leadership StudiesUniversity of IowaIowa CityUSA
| | - Christine Logel
- Social Development StudiesRenison University College affil. University of WaterlooWaterlooCanada
| | - Jennifer LaCosse
- Department of Behavioral SciencesUniversity of Michigan FlintFlintUSA
| | - Lindsay Jarratt
- Department of Educational Policy and Leadership StudiesUniversity of IowaIowa CityUSA
| | | | | | - Mary C. Murphy
- Department of Psychological and Brain SciencesIndiana UniversityBloomingtonUSA
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Soylu Yalcinkaya N, Adams G. Expressing the self or achieving security through academic choices: Implications for gender gaps in STEM pursuit. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11218-022-09736-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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4
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Jończyk R, Dickson DS, Bel-Bahar TS, Kremer GE, Siddique Z, van Hell JG. How stereotype threat affects the brain dynamics of creative thinking in female students. Neuropsychologia 2022; 173:108306. [PMID: 35716798 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
When people are placed in a situation where they are at risk of substantiating a negative stereotype about their social group (a scenario termed stereotype threat), the extra pressure to avoid this outcome can undermine their performance. Substantial and consistent gender disparities in STEM fields leave women vulnerable to stereotype threat, including the stereotype that women are not as good at generating creative and innovative ideas as men. We tested whether female students' creative thinking is affected by a stereotype threat by measuring power in the alpha frequency band (8-12Hz oscillations) that has been associated with better creative thinking outcomes. Counter to expectations that a stereotype threat would reduce alpha power associated with creative thinking, analyses showed increased alpha power following the introduction of the stereotype threat. This outcome suggests that women may have attempted to increase their internal attention during the task in order to disprove the stereotype. Behaviorally, this effort did not lead to changes in creative performance, suggesting that the stereotype threat decoupled alpha power from creative thinking outcomes. These results support a growing school of thought in the neuroscience of creativity literature that the alpha power often seen in conjunction with creative behavior is not necessarily related to the creativity processes themselves, but rather might be part of a larger network modulating the distribution of attentional resources more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Danielle S Dickson
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Tarik S Bel-Bahar
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Gül E Kremer
- Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Zahed Siddique
- The School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Janet G van Hell
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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Gajda A, Bójko A, Stoecker E. The vicious circle of stereotypes: Teachers’ awareness of and responses to students’ gender-stereotypical behaviour. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269007. [PMID: 35704605 PMCID: PMC9200163 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The study was conducted using a mixed methods approach combining lesson observations and interviews with teachers. A total of 204 hours of observation in 34 classes of 7th and 8th graders (aged 13–14 in the Polish primary school system) were conducted to investigate teachers’ behaviour that may exacerbate gender stereotypes and gender bias in the classroom. Moreover, the 25 female teachers conducting the observed lessons were interviewed to identify: (i) teachers’ awareness of stereotypical behaviours of girls and boys during classes; (ii) teachers’ awareness of possible causes of these behaviours; (iii) teachers’ responses to these behaviours, including actions that could deepen gender stereotypes; and (iv) teachers’ sensitivity to the gender polarised content of school textbooks. The results of the study show that teachers, although they are aware of the existence of gender stereotypes and declare their willingness to counteract them, tend to strengthen rather than eliminate these stereotypes with the strategies and actions undertaken. They have difficulty recognising possible reasons for the occurrence of stereotypical student behaviour and have little awareness of the gender-polarised content of school textbooks. The results of the study are discussed, inter alia, in light of the concept of the vicious circle of stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophecies in education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Gajda
- Department of Educational Sciences, The Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw, Poland
- * E-mail:
| | - Agnieszka Bójko
- Department of Educational Sciences, The Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ewa Stoecker
- Department of Educational Sciences, The Maria Grzegorzewska University, Warsaw, Poland
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Kim JS, Kehle TJ, Bray MA, Trudel SM, Fitzmaurice B, Bray A, Del Campo M, DeMaio E. Using self-affirmations to improve achievement in fourth-grade students. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-02697-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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7
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Soylu Yalcinkaya N, Gravelin CR, Adams G. Gendered virtual environments of STEM fields: a cultural-ecological analysis of predominantly white and historically black institutions. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11218-021-09618-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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8
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Stewart-Williams S, Halsey LG. Men, women and STEM: Why the differences and what should be done? EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY 2021. [DOI: 10.1177/0890207020962326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
It is a well-known and widely lamented fact that men outnumber women in a number of fields in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). The most commonly discussed explanations for the gender gaps are discrimination and socialization, and the most common policy prescriptions target those ostensible causes. However, a great deal of evidence in the behavioural sciences suggests that discrimination and socialization are only part of the story. The purpose of this paper is to highlight other aspects of the story: aspects that are commonly overlooked or downplayed. More precisely, the paper has two main aims. The first is to examine the evidence that factors other than workplace discrimination contribute to the gender gaps in STEM. These include relatively large average sex differences in career and lifestyle preferences, and relatively small average differences in cognitive aptitudes – some favouring males, others favouring females – which are associated with progressively larger differences the further above the average one looks. The second aim is to examine the evidence suggesting that these sex differences are not purely a product of social factors but also have a substantial biological (i.e. inherited) component. A more complete picture of the causes of the unequal sex ratios in STEM may productively inform policy discussions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lewis G Halsey
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
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Soylu Yalcinkaya N, Adams G. A Cultural Psychological Model of Cross-National Variation in Gender Gaps in STEM Participation. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2020; 24:345-370. [PMID: 32791896 DOI: 10.1177/1088868320947005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Gender gaps in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) participation are larger in societies where women have greater freedom of choice. We provide a cultural psychological model to explain this pattern. We consider how individualistic/post-materialistic cultural patterns in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic) settings foster a self-expressive construction of academic choice, whereby affirming femininity/masculinity and ensuring identity fit become primary goals. Striving to fulfill these goals can lead men toward, and women away from, STEM pursuit, resulting in a large gender gap. In Majority World settings, on the contrary, collectivistic/materialistic cultural patterns foster a security-oriented construction, whereby achieving financial security and fulfilling relational expectations become primary goals of academic choice. These goals can lead both women and men toward secure and lucrative fields like STEM, resulting in a smaller gender gap. Finally, gender gaps in STEM participation feed back into the STEM=male stereotype. We discuss the implications of our model for research and theory, and intervention and policy.
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Marx DM. Fear of the known? The effect of peer relevance and gender on women’s math performance under threat. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s11218-019-09519-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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11
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Ford TE, Buie HS, Mason SD, Olah AR, Breeden CJ, Ferguson MA. Diminished self-concept and social exclusion: Disparagement humor from the target’s perspective. SELF AND IDENTITY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/15298868.2019.1653960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E. Ford
- Department of Psychology, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, USA
| | - Hannah S. Buie
- Department of Psychology, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, USA
| | | | - Andrew R. Olah
- Department of Psychology, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, USA
| | | | - Mark A. Ferguson
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, USA
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12
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A Model of Threatening Academic Environments Predicts Women STEM Majors’ Self-Esteem and Engagement in STEM. SEX ROLES 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-018-0942-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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13
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Moss-Racusin CA, Sanzari C, Caluori N, Rabasco H. Gender Bias Produces Gender Gaps in STEM Engagement. SEX ROLES 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-018-0902-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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14
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Does Sexism Affect Thai Women's Psychological and Behavioural Responses? The Stereotype Threat-Buffering Effect of Mindfulness. JOURNAL OF PACIFIC RIM PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1017/prp.2018.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Few studies have examined the linkage of perceived sexism with stereotype threat and psychological responses in a work setting and moderators that may buffer this negative effect. In Study 1, the relationships among perceived sexism, stereotype threat, and psychological responses were explored among Thai female employees ( N = 296) in a self-report questionnaire study. The aim of Study 2 was to investigate whether mindfulness can mitigate the disastrous effect of sexism on performance, using an experimental design. In Study 1, the standard error of measurement (SEM) results observed a partial mediation effect of stereotype threat for the sexism-disidentification relationship, and sexism only had a significant direct effect on career aspirations. In Study 2, the interaction effect of sexism × mindfulness on the female participants’ reasoning test scores was significant, indicating that those with mindfulness practice performed better when being exposed to sexist behaviours. The current research provides additional information on understanding the impact of sexism on disengagement and decreased career aspirations among Thai female employees in male-dominated industries. In practice, Thai organisations should be concerned about the impact of sexism on disengagement and the protective factor of performance decrements by encouraging anti-sexist norms and fostering the cultivation of mindfulness through practice.
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Positive Feedback From Male Authority Figures Boosts Women’s Math Outcomes. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2017; 44:359-383. [DOI: 10.1177/0146167217741312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
People often search for cues in the environment to determine whether or not they will be judged or treated negatively based on their social identities. Accordingly, feedback from gatekeepers—members of majority groups who hold authority and power in a field—may be an especially important cue for those at risk of experiencing social identity threat, such as women in math settings. Across a series of studies, women who received positive (“Good job!”) versus objective (score only) feedback from a male (vs. female) authority figure in math reported greater confidence; belonging; self-efficacy; more favorable Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) attitudes/identification/interest; and greater implicit identification with math. Men were affected only by the type of math feedback they received, not by the source of feedback. A meta-analysis across studies confirmed results. Together, these findings suggest that positive feedback from gatekeepers is an important situational cue that can improve the outcomes of negatively stereotyped groups.
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Brannon TN, Taylor VJ, Higginbotham GD, Henderson K. Selves in contact: how integrating perspectives on sociocultural selves and intergroup contact can inform theory and application on reducing inequality. SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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17
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Cadaret MC, Hartung PJ, Subich LM, Weigold IK. Stereotype threat as a barrier to women entering engineering careers. JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL BEHAVIOR 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2016.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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18
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Hoyt CL, Murphy SE. Managing to clear the air: Stereotype threat, women, and leadership. LEADERSHIP QUARTERLY 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Doyle RA, Voyer D. Stereotype manipulation effects on math and spatial test performance: A meta-analysis. LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2015.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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20
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Thoman DB, Sansone C. Gender bias triggers diverging science interests between women and men: The role of activity interest appraisals. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11031-016-9550-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J. Spencer
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1;
| | - Christine Logel
- Renison University College, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1;
| | - Paul G. Davies
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, V1V 1V7;
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22
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Pillaud V, Rigaud D, Clémence A. The Influence of Chronic and Situational Social Status on Stereotype Susceptibility. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0144582. [PMID: 26645829 PMCID: PMC4672923 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2015] [Accepted: 11/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We tested whether stereotypical situations would affect low-status group members' performance more strongly than high-status group members'. Experiment 1 and 2 tested this hypothesis using gender as a proxy of chronic social status and a gender-neutral task that has been randomly presented to favor boys (men superiority condition), favor girls (women superiority condition), or show no gender preference (control condition). Both experiments found that women's (Experiment 1) and girls' performance (Experiment 2) suffered more from the evoked stereotypes than did men's and boys' ones. This result was replicated in Experiment 3, indicating that short men (low-status group) were more affected compared to tall men (high-status group). Additionally, men were more affected compared to women when they perceived height as a threat. Hence, individuals are more or less vulnerable to identity threats as a function of the chronic social status at play; enjoying a high status provides protection and endorsing a low one weakens individual performance in stereotypical situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Pillaud
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
| | - David Rigaud
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alain Clémence
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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The threat of sexism in a STEM educational setting: the moderating impacts of ethnicity and legitimacy beliefs on test performance. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s11218-015-9310-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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24
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Egalitarianism makes organizations stronger: Cross-national variation in institutional and psychological equality predicts talent levels and the performance of national teams. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2014.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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25
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Jansen WS, Otten S, van der Zee KI. Being part of diversity: The effects of an all-inclusive multicultural diversity approach on majority members’ perceived inclusion and support for organizational diversity efforts. GROUP PROCESSES & INTERGROUP RELATIONS 2015. [DOI: 10.1177/1368430214566892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In two experiments we tested how explicitly including the cultural majority group in an organization’s diversity approach (all-inclusive multiculturalism) affects the extent to which majority members feel included in the organization and support organizational diversity efforts. In Study 1 we focused on prospective employees. We found that an all-inclusive diversity approach, compared with the “standard” multicultural approach in which the majority group is not explicitly made part of organizational diversity, led to higher levels of anticipated inclusion for those with a high need to belong. In Study 2 we turned to sitting organizational members. Here, we again found that an all-inclusive multicultural approach increased perceptions of inclusion, but now the effect was present regardless of individual levels of need to belong. Perceived inclusion, in turn, was positively related to majority members’ support for organizational diversity efforts. Together, these findings underline the effectiveness of an all-inclusive multicultural approach towards diversity.
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Kalokerinos EK, von Hippel C, Zacher H. Is Stereotype Threat a Useful Construct for Organizational Psychology Research and Practice? INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY-PERSPECTIVES ON SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/iops.12167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
AbstractStereotypes about different groups persist in organizations. Employees from such groups may experience stereotype threat, or the concern that they are being judged on the basis of demeaning stereotypes about groups to which they belong. The goal of this focal article is to discuss whether stereotype threat is a useful construct for organizational psychology research and practice. To this end, we focus on consequences other than acute performance deficits in laboratory settings. In particular, we examine studies that highlight the effects of stereotype threat on intrapersonal outcomes (e.g., job attitudes), interpersonal outcomes (e.g., negotiation), and on the relationship between employees and their organization. The research reviewed suggests that stereotype threat is a potentially important phenomenon in organizations, but it also highlights the paucity of research in an organizational context. We provide suggestions for future research directions as well as for the prevention and amelioration of stereotype threat in the workplace.
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Barreto M, Ellemers N. Detecting and Experiencing Prejudice. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aesp.2015.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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28
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Eich TS, Murayama K, Castel AD, Knowlton BJ. The Dynamic Effects of Age-Related Stereotype Threat on Explicit and Implicit Memory Performance in Older Adults. SOCIAL COGNITION 2014. [DOI: 10.1521/soco.2014.32.6.559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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29
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Autin F, Branscombe NR, Croizet JC. Creating, Closing, and Reversing the Gender Gap in Test Performance. PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN QUARTERLY 2013. [DOI: 10.1177/0361684313510485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We investigate how selection policies—the rules defining access to a valued position—can act as situational cues signaling social identity threat or safety among women and men. College students took a logic test ostensibly determining their assignment to a position of leader or subordinate for a subsequent task. Study 1 showed that when only the test score determined the selection, women experienced more identity threat and performed worse than men. When the policy allowed the selection of women at a lower level of performance than men to promote diversity, men’s performance decreased compared to the merit condition, falling to the level of women’s performance and thus closing the gender gap. Study 2 replicated these findings and established that the meaning derived from selection practices affects candidates’ performance. A third policy that also preferentially selected women, but to correct for unequal treatment based on gender, leads to a reversed gender gap (i.e., women outperformed men). These findings suggest that structural features of test settings including selection practices can constrain individuals’ potential access to opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédérique Autin
- Department of Psychology, CeRCA, University of Poitiers and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Poitiers, France
- Institut des Sciences Sociales, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Jean-Claude Croizet
- Department of Psychology, CeRCA, University of Poitiers and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Poitiers, France
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Thoman DB, Smith JL, Brown ER, Chase J, Lee JYK. Beyond Performance: A Motivational Experiences Model of Stereotype Threat. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2013; 25:211-243. [PMID: 23894223 PMCID: PMC3719418 DOI: 10.1007/s10648-013-9219-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The contributing role of stereotype threat (ST) to learning and performance decrements for stigmatized students in highly evaluative situations has been vastly documented and is now widely known by educators and policy makers. However, recent research illustrates that underrepresented and stigmatized students' academic and career motivations are influenced by ST more broadly, particularly through influences on achievement orientations, sense of belonging, and intrinsic motivation. Such a focus moves conceptualizations of ST effects in education beyond the influence on a student's performance, skill level, and feelings of self-efficacy per se to experiencing greater belonging uncertainty and lower interest in stereotyped tasks and domains. These negative experiences are associated with important outcomes such as decreased persistence and domain identification, even among students who are high in achievement motivation. In this vein, we present and review support for the Motivational Experience Model of ST, a self-regulatory model framework for integrating research on ST, achievement goals, sense of belonging, and intrinsic motivation to make predictions for how stigmatized students' motivational experiences are maintained or disrupted, particularly over long periods of time.
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Aronson J, Burgess D, Phelan SM, Juarez L. Unhealthy interactions: the role of stereotype threat in health disparities. Am J Public Health 2012; 103:50-6. [PMID: 23153125 DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2012.300828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Stereotype threat is the unpleasant psychological experience of confronting negative stereotypes about race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or social status. Hundreds of published studies show how the experience of stereotype threat can impair intellectual functioning and interfere with test and school performance. Numerous published interventions derived from this research have improved the performance and motivation of individuals targeted by low-ability stereotypes. Stereotype threat theory and research provide a useful lens for understanding and reducing the negative health consequences of interracial interactions for African Americans and members of similarly stigmatized minority groups. Here we summarize the educational outcomes of stereotype threat and examine the implications of stereotype threat for health and health-related behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Aronson
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
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Burgess DJ, Joseph A, van Ryn M, Carnes M. Does stereotype threat affect women in academic medicine? ACADEMIC MEDICINE : JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN MEDICAL COLLEGES 2012; 87:506-12. [PMID: 22361794 PMCID: PMC3315611 DOI: 10.1097/acm.0b013e318248f718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Multiple complex factors contribute to the slow pace of women's advancement into leadership positions in academic medicine. In this article, the authors propose that stereotype threat--under which individuals who are members of a group characterized by negative stereotypes in a particular domain perform below their actual abilities in that domain when group membership is emphasized--may play an important role in the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in academic medicine. Research to objectively assess the impact of stereotype threat for women in academic medicine is feasible and necessary to confirm this hypothesis. Still, a number of conditions present in the academic medicine community today have been shown to trigger stereotype threat in other settings, and stereotype threat fits with existing research on gender in academic medicine. In the meantime, academic health centers should implement relatively simple measures supported by experimental evidence from other settings to reduce the risk of stereotype threat, including (1) introducing the concept of stereotype threat to the academic medicine community, (2) engaging all stakeholders, male and female, to promote identity safety by enacting and making faculty aware of policies to monitor potential instances of discrimination, and training faculty to provide performance feedback that is free of gender bias, (3) counteracting the effects of sex segregation at academic health centers by increasing exposure to successful female leaders, (4) reducing gender stereotype priming by avoiding stereotypically male criteria for promotion, grants, and awards, and (5) building leadership efficacy among female physicians and scientists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Jill Burgess
- Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55417, USA.
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Abstract
In workplace interactions, professionals who are demographically different from the majority of others in their profession (e.g., one of a few African Americans in a predominately White group of doctors) often experience “identity ambiguity”—the sense and feeling that one’s claims to a professional identity are questioned or not fully accepted in an interaction because of one’s atypical demographic background. We assert here that identity ambiguity can have meaningful psychological and behavioral effects on the demographically atypical professional. We offer a model which explores how such experiences of identity ambiguity evoke identity threats and negative emotions. In turn, we describe how these reactions can impact work role engagement and in-role and extra-role performance for demographically atypical professionals. We discuss the implications for organizations and for individuals who have trouble claiming and/or being granted an identity in work interactions.
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Abstract
Theory predicts that individuals’ sexism serves to exacerbate inequality in their society’s gender hierarchy. Past research, however, has provided only correlational evidence to support this hypothesis. In this study, I analyzed a large longitudinal data set that included representative data from 57 societies. Multilevel modeling showed that sexism directly predicted increases in gender inequality. This study provides the first evidence that sexist ideologies can create gender inequality within societies, and this finding suggests that sexism not only legitimizes the societal status quo, but also actively enhances the severity of the gender hierarchy. Three potential mechanisms for this effect are discussed briefly.
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Cihangir S, Barreto M, Ellemers N. The dark side of ambiguous discrimination: How state self-esteem moderates emotional and behavioural responses to ambiguous and unambiguous discrimination. BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2010; 49:155-74. [DOI: 10.1348/014466609x425869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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Brown CS, Leaper C. Latina and European American Girls' Experiences with Academic Sexism and their Self-Concepts in Mathematics and Science During Adolescence. SEX ROLES 2010; 63:860-870. [PMID: 21212810 PMCID: PMC2993888 DOI: 10.1007/s11199-010-9856-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The study investigated Latina and European American adolescent girls’ (N = 345, M = 15.2 years, range = 13 to 18) experiences with academic sexism in mathematics and science (M/S) and their M/S perceived competence and M/S value (liking and importance). M/S academic sexism was based on girls’ reported experiences hearing sexist comments about girls’ abilities in math and science. Older European American adolescents, and both younger and older Latina adolescents, who experienced several instances of academic sexism felt less competent in M/S than girls who experienced less sexism (controlling for M/S grades). In addition, among older girls (regardless of ethnicity), those who experienced several instances of academic sexism valued M/S less than girls who experienced less sexism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christia Spears Brown
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 215 Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506 USA
| | - Campbell Leaper
- Department of Psychology, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 USA
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Abstract
What processes best explain women’s underrepresentation in science, math, and engineering fields in the U.S.? Do they also explain men’s underrepresentation in the humanities? Two survey studies across two U.S. West Coast universities (N = 62; N = 614) addressed these questions in the context of two fields: one male-dominated (computer science) and the other female-dominated (English). Among a set of social predictors—including perceived similarity to the people in the field, social identity threats, and expectations of success—the best mediator of women’s lower interest in computer science and men’s lower interest in English was perceived similarity. Thus, changing students’ social perceptions of how they relate to those in the field may help to diversify academic fields.
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Eccleston CP, Major B. An Expectancy/Value Perspective on the Demotivating Effects of Prejudice. JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00637.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Delacollette N, Dardenne B, Dumont M. Stéréotypes prescriptifs et avantages des groupes dominants. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2010. [DOI: 10.3917/anpsy.101.0127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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Garcia DM, Schmitt MT, Branscombe NR, Ellemers N. Women's reactions to ingroup members who protest discriminatory treatment: The importance of beliefs about inequality and response appropriateness. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2009. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Adams G, Edkins V, Lacka D, Pickett KM, Cheryan S. Teaching About Racism: Pernicious Implications of the Standard Portrayal. BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2008. [DOI: 10.1080/01973530802502309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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