Sample response

A stereotype is when you have a schema about a group and you apply the characteristics associated with that schema to a single member of that group. One effect of stereotyping is called Stereotype Threat.  Stereotypes can have a negative effect on members of the group to which the stereotype is applied, even if the members of the group do not believe the stereotype.  Stereotype threat is a theory that says that when a person is made aware of a stereotype about his group, it can have a negative effect on his performance. According to Steele and Aronson, this is because the stereotype threat increases "spotlight anxiety" or the feeling that you are being judged. This anxiety then harms performance.

Steele and Aronson (1995) carried out an experiment to see if stereotype threat would affect the performance of African Americans on a test of verbal abilities.  All of the students in the sample were from Stanford University, so it can be assumed that they were of similar verbal ability.  In one condition the group was told that the test was a test of their verbal abilities.  In the second test, they were not told this.  When the group was told it was a measure of their verbal abilities, the African Americans scored lower than the white Americans. When they were not told it was a test of their verbal abilities, African American students performed as well as the white Americans.  In a final version of the experiment, they had a third group indicate their race on the test before beginning.  In this case, the African Americans did worse than the white Americans.  Stereotypes about the academic ability of African Americans led to spotlight anxiety which meant that they performed worse on the test.  This shows that stereotypes can have a negative effect on performance even if the individual does not believe in the stereotype himself. This effect is strongest when the person is made aware of his group membership or of the stereotype.

330 words