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Stereotypes and the Achievement Gap: Stereotype Threat Prior to Test Taking

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Abstract

Stereotype threat is known as a situational predicament that prevents members of negatively stereotyped groups to perform up to their full ability. This review shows that the detrimental influence of stereotype threat goes beyond test taking: It impairs stereotyped students to build abilities in the first place. Guided by current theory on stereotype threat processes and boundary conditions, this review integrates findings on test taking, disidentification, and learning. A new three-stage account of stereotype threat is proposed that includes stereotype threat effects on both ability and performance. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

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Notes

  1. No further distinction between social identity threat and stereotype threat is made (see also, for example, Aronson and McGlone 2009).

  2. Journals with the 20 highest impact factors in the Educational Psychology category of the “Thomson Reuters Journal Citations Reports” were inspected on May 25, 2012. In addition to the 13 articles from the 20 highest ranking journals, additional articles from other educational psychology journals may contribute to the total number of 369 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

  3. Increased monitoring was also identified as a key mechanism of stereotype threat effects on proceduralized skills, such as golf-putting in a sample of expert golfers (Beilock et al. 2006).

  4. Moreover, GPAs could be reduced due to other mechanisms (e.g., teacher expectancies, see Jussim and Harber 2005).

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The authors would like to thank Bernad Batinic for helpful comments and suggestions.

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Appel, M., Kronberger, N. Stereotypes and the Achievement Gap: Stereotype Threat Prior to Test Taking. Educ Psychol Rev 24, 609–635 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-012-9200-4

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