Harriet E. S. Rosenthal

Reducing Stereotype Threat by Blurring Intergroup Boundaries

The authors aimed to establish whether interventions designed to reduce intergroup bias could be applied to the stereotype threat domain. In three experiments, the hypothesis was tested that blurring intergroup boundaries would reduce stereotype threat. In the first study, it was found that female participants who thought about characteristics shared between the genders tended to show less preference for stereotypical female careers than did participants in the baseline condition. In Experiment 2, participants who thought about overlapping characteristics answered more math questions correctly compared to a baseline group and participants who thought about differences between the genders. In Experiment 3, a specific threat manipulation was included. Participants who completed the overlapping characteristics task before receiving the threat completed significantly more math questions correctly than did participants in the baseline and threat conditions. The findings support the idea that interventions designed to reduce intergroup bias can be applied successfully in the reduction of stereotype threat.

Interactive effects of sex hormones and gender stereotypes on cognitive sex differences—A psychobiosocial approach.

Biological and social factors have been shown to affect cognitive sex differences. For example, several studies have found that sex hormones have activating effects on sex-sensitive tasks. On the other hand, it has been shown that gender stereotypes can influence the cognitive performance of (gender-) stereotyped individuals. However, few studies have investigated the combined effects of both factors. The present study investigated the interaction between sex hormones and gender stereotypes within a psychobiosocial approach. One hundred and fourteen participants (59 women) performed a battery of sex-sensitive cognitive tasks, including mental rotation, verbal fluency, and perceptual speed. Saliva samples were taken immediately after cognitive testing. Levels of testosterone (T) were analysed using chemiluminescence immunoassay (LIA). To activate gender stereotypes, a questionnaire was applied to the experimental group that referred to the cognitive tasks used. The control group received an identical questionnaire but with a gender-neutral content. As expected, significant sex differences favouring males and females appeared for mental rotation and verbal fluency tasks, respectively. The results revealed no sex difference in perceptual speed. The male superiority in the Revised Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotations Tests (MRT-3D) was mainly driven by the stereotype-active group. No significant sex difference in MRT-3D appeared in the control group. The MRT-3D was also the task in which a strong gender-stereotype favouring males was present for both males and females. Interestingly, T levels of the stereotype-activated group were 60% higher than that of male controls. The results suggest that sex hormones mediate the effects of gender stereotypes on specific cognitive abilities.

Choking under pressure: When an additional positive stereotype affects performance for domain identified male mathematics students

This research aimed to establish if the presentation of two positive stereotypes would result in choking under pressure for identified male mathematics students. Seventy-five 16 year old men, who had just commenced their AS-level study, were either made aware of their gender group membership (single positive stereotype) their school group membership (single positive stereotype) or both group memberships (dual stereotype) before being given a maths test. Analysis revealed that male students who studied maths (identified) underperformed in the dual stereotype condition, compared to both single stereotyped conditions, in line with the choking under pressure hypothesis. In comparison, no such effect was found for male nonmaths students (disidentified), suggesting that choking under pressurè only occurs for individuals for whom the group membership is important to their self-perception.RésuméL’objectif de cette recherche était de tester l’hypothèse selon laquelle la présentation de deux stéréotypes positifs devrait générer une pression délétère (“choking under pressure”) sur des garçons fortement identifiés aux mathématiques. Soixante quinze garçons de 16 ans, ayant juste commencé leurs études de lycée, étaient amenées à prendre conscience de leur appartenance de genre (un seul stéréotype po positif), de leur appartenance à leur lycée (in seul stéréotype positif). ou des deux simultanément (deux stéréotypes positifs), avant de compléter un test de mathématiques Les résultats indiquent que les garçons qui étudient les mathématiques au lycée (forte identification) obtiennent des performances inférieures dans la condition de présentation des deux stéréotypes positifs par rapport aux deux conditions de stéréotype simple, en accord avec l’hypothèse d’une pression délétère. Ces effets ne se retrouvent pas pour les garçons qui n’ étudient pas les mathématiques au lycée (faible identification), ce qui suggère que l’impact délétère de la pression se manifeste seulement chez les individus pour qui l’appartenance au groupe revêt une forte importance pour leur perception de soi.