From Stereotype Threat to Stereotype Threats: Testing a Multi-Threat Framework

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This research project builds upon recent advances in stereotype threat research by investigating a Multi-Threat Framework that distinguishes between different forms of stereotype threat. Situational aspects of academic and organizational environments, such as filling out demographic information immediately before taking a test, being the only woman in an engineering firm, or being the only racial minority in an upper division course at an elite university, can make salient negative stereotypes that elicit a cascade of distracting thoughts and concerns. Stereotype threat research reveals that these concerns ultimately create disparities in cognition, motivation, and performance in stereotype-relevant tasks and fields. This work focuses on the psychological experience of stereotype threat and helps to explain why women, racial/ethnic minorities, and other commonly stereotyped groups are under-represented in many fields. The proposed experiments will test the differentiability of the stereotype threats, drawing from well-established cognitive tasks and traditional stereotype threat paradigms. The first set of experiments explores the different stereotype threats that emerge in different situations. The second set of experiments explores the different stereotype threats that are likely to emerge between and within negatively stereotyped groups. The third set of experiments will employ the Multi-Threat Framework to test interventions designed to reduce the different forms of stereotype threat. Ultimately, this research can enhance our knowledge of who is at risk for stereotype threat, when they are at risk, why they are at risk, and how to reduce that risk. In addition, given that the topic of stereotype threat is of interest to undergraduate and graduate students, this research will facilitate hands-on research training as well as conference participation and publications.