Cognitive and Affective Processes Reducing Performance and Career Motivation Under Stereotype Threat

Abstract

Much research has shown that when negative performance-related stereotypes about a group are made salient (e.g., women are bad at math) in a context where they are relevant (e.g., a math test), the targeted group members’ performance and career motivation in the domain decreases (Inzlicht & Schmader, 2011). In such situations, targets of negative stereotypes are at risk of being judged by the stereotype or inadvertently confirming it and therefore experience a sense of stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995). In the present dissertation, I examine cognitive and affective processes by which this threat reduces performance (Research Project 1) and motivation to pursue a career in the domain (Research Project 2) on the example of women in math.Project 1 aimed to test the hypothesis of the integrated process model that stereotype threat impairs performance because individuals try to suppress their thoughts and emotions under its influence (Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008). In 115 women, we manipulated stereotype threat (stereotype threat vs. no threat) and thought suppression (suppression vs. reappraisal vs. no instruction) before they took a math test and a concentration achievement test. The results show that women performed worse on the math test under stereotype threat than without stereotype threat, but when given the additional instruction to suppress all task-irrelevant thoughts, both the stereotype threat and no-threat group performed similarly poorly. When instead given a reappraisal that made suppression unnecessary (i.e., task-irrelevant thoughts are normal), both the stereotype threat and no-threat group performed better than when instructed to suppress thoughts, and similar to the no-threat group without further instruction. Concentration achievement was not affected by stereotype threat. This study provides evidence that: a) stereotype threat triggers intuitive thought suppression, b) thought suppression reduces math performance, and c) an alternative strategy (e.g., reappraisal) can prevent stereotype threat effects on math performance.Project 2 aimed to test a novel explanation of stereotype threat effects on career motivation: The mediating role of anticipated affect in stereotype threat situations. According to several theorists (e.g., Baumeister, Vohs, DeWall, & Zhang, 2007), human behavior is shaped by the affective consequences it is associated with; that means that people are motivated to approach what promises positive feelings and avoid what promises negative feelings. In two pretests (Ns = 28/63) we showed that in scenarios that make the stereotype salient (stereotype threat) women actually expected to experience more stereotype threat and tended to anticipate more negative and less positive affect than women in the no-threat scenarios. Results of two primary studies (Ns = 102/39) supported the hypothesis that lower anticipated positive affect in the stereotype threat scenario led to lower motivation to pursue a math-related career, compared to the no threat scenario. As expected, this was only the case among highly math-identified women, but not among men (Study 1) or low math-identified women (Study 2).The results and their implications are discussed on the grounds of stereotype threat theory (Schmader et al., 2008, Steele & Aronson, 1995) and general approaches to threat and challenge (Blascovich, 2008; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Specifically, I outline how the different processes and outcomes of making a negative stereotype salient can be seen as consequences of a general threat to identity, which becomes particularly acute in performance situations. Implications of this view are discussed.