Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Stereotype threat refers to the risk of conforming to a stereotype regarding a group one belongs to. This threat has been heavily studied with negative stereotypes on performance-based tasks (e.g., math), and encompasses the anxiety one may feel due to being associated with the negative stereotype (Steele & Aronson, 1995). The present project sought to expand upon current literature in several ways. First, this project sought to assess whether fake stereotypes elicit stereotype threat like real stereotypes do. Second, this project examined whether fake stereotype threat works with positive stereotypes as well as negative. Third, this study examined how group identification influenced the effects of stereotype threat. This was accomplished via a controlled experiment with random assignment. It was expected that stereotype threat would work with fake stereotypes, and that performance would vary based on which stereotype the participant was presented with (positive or negative). Additionally, it was expected that identification would exacerbate the effects of stereotype threat on the performance-based task. Results indicated that there was no significant difference between stereotype conditions on reading comprehension performance, and that there was no moderating effect of identification.

Year manuscript completed

2021

Year degree awarded

2021

Author's Keywords

stereotype, fake stereotypes, stereotype threat, performance, reading comprehension

Thesis Advisor

Jana Hackathorn

Committee Chair

Jana Hackathorn

Committee Member

Patrick Cushen

Committee Member

Dan Wann

Committee Member

Diane Nititham

Document Type

Thesis

Download

Share

COinS