SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

At the University of Texas

Stereotype Threat

Why are there so few female engineers and scientists? Why do whites outperform blacks and other minorities on standardized aptitude tests? For centuries, it had been assumed that the answer lay in the genes-that the brains of women, for example, were simply lacking the neural architecture necessary for mastery of math and science.

Less than a decade ago, a new look at these and other group differences inspired a radical theory which claimed that most of these differences could be reduced or eliminated by understanding how people respond to negative stereotypes about their racial, ethnic, or gender group. The term "stereotype threat" was coined to describe the threat of being viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype, or the fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype. In essence, a person under stereotype threat experiences a host of debilitating psychological and physiological responses, many of which interfere with intellectual performance and academic motivation.

In collaboration with his graduate students, Robert Josephs had conducted pioneering work on stereotype threat, and has recently begun to investigate the connections between stereotype threat and biological influences on personality. Currently, his group is looking at the role that circulating testosterone plays in moderating the effect of stereotype threat on intellectual performance.