Question

Josefina, a Hispanic fourth grader, does well on homework assignments. But when her teacher announces, "It's time for a REAL test to see how well you know what you've learned," Josefina usually gets grades that are significantly lower. Please use the concept of stereotype threat to explain this inconsistency between Josefina's mastery of her work on regular days compared with her mastery of the same material on test days. Please include an additional example of stereotype threat that comes from your own life or imagination, and how it might impact someone's performance negatively or positively.

Answer 1

Stereotype threat refers to an individual taking the pressure of the group he belong's to which results in developing anxiety which affects one's performance. In the above case, Josefina does well on homework assignments, however, whenever she is told that now she has to be a part of the real test, anxiety creeps in which results in poor performance. There are experiments conducted on how individuals react to situations in which stereotype threat is stirred. The experimental group is mentioned about how whites are more intelligent than blacks. The controlled group is not introduced to the above stimulus. The experimental group which had black people in them, did visibly poor on the intelligence test. There was no such effects seen in the controlled group. Josefina's behaviour can clearly be explained through the stereotype threat. She feels pressured and anxious because of the stereotype which resulted in lower grades.

Indians are often considered to be the masters in the IT industry. I once had a co-worker who is Indian. We had to together work on a technical issue pertaining to IT. Me being a Black American, I felt threatened because of the stereotype and I let it affect my performance. He solved the issue before I did. Stereotype threat can indeed get the better off you.