Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Lazy, Dumb, or Industrious: When Stereotypes Convey Attribution Information in the Classroom

  • Published:
Educational Psychology Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Historically, ethnic minority children and girls have underachieved in American schools. This paper examines the role that stereotypes play in imposing obstacles to success for stigmatized children inside and outside of the classroom. Stereotypes convey explanatory information about groups—such as blacks are lazy, girls are bad at math, and so forth—that may be used as attributions for performance by adults as well as the children themselves. This paper presents a model that brings to light the underlying attributional structures of all stereotypes. Each of these attributional signatures has specific effects on judgments of responsibility and deservingness, help giving or punishment, self-esteem and motivation, and even performance inside and outside of the classroom. Through recognizing that stereotypes are vehicles for attributional judgments, educators are better able to anticipate the effects that stereotypes may have on students and take measures to counteract or diminish them.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G., and Alloy, L. B. (1989). Hopelessness depression: A theory-based subtype of depression. Psychol. Rev. 96: 358-372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., and Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. J. Abnormal Psychol. 87: 49-74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allport, G. W. (1954). The Nature of Prejudice, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, MS.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Association of University Women. (1998). Technology gender gap develops while gaps in math and science narrow, AAUW Foundation report shows [on line]. Available at www.aauw.org/2000/ggpr.html.

  • Anderson, C. A. (1983). Motivational and performance deficits in interpersonal settings: The effects of attributional style. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 45: 1136-1147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C. A., and Jennings, D. L. (1980). When experiences of failure promote expectations of success: The impact of attributing failure to ineffective strategies. J. Personal. 48: 393-407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C. A., Krull, D. S., and Weiner, B. (1994). Explanations: Processes and consequences. In Kruglanski, A. W., and Higgins, E. T. (eds.) Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Mechanisms.

  • Andrews, G. R., and Debus, R. L. (1978). Persistence and the causal perception of failure: Modifying cognitive attributions. J. Educat. Psychol. 70: 154-166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashmore, R. D., and Del Boca, F. K. (1981). Conceptual approaches to stereotypes and stereotyping. In Hamilton, D. (ed.), Cognitive Processes in Stereotyping and Intergroup Behavior. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bar Tal, D. (1978). Attributional analysis of achievement related behavior. Rev. Educat. Res. 48: 259-271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bar-Tal, D. (1982). The effects of teachers' behavior on pupils' attributions: A review. In Antaki, C., and Brewin, C. (eds.), Attributions and Psychological Change: Applications of Attributional Theories to Clinical and Educational Practice, London, Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bridgeman, B., and Wendler, C. (1991). Gender differences in predictors of college mathematics performance and in college mathematics course grades. J. Educat. Psychol. 83: 275-284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brophy, J. E. (1983). Research on the self-fulfilling prophecy and teacher expectations. J. Educat. Psychol. 75: 631-661.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brophy, J., and Good, T. (1974). Teacher-Student Relationships: Causes and Consequences, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler, R. (1994). Teacher communications and student interpretations: Effects of teacher responses to failing students on attributional inferences in two age groups. Br. J. Educat. Psychol. 64: 277-294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, J. S. (1978). Causal attributions in expert parole decisions. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 11: 232-239.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, J. S., and Payne, J. W. (1976). The psychology of the parole decision process: A joint application of attribution theory and information processing psychology. In Carrol, J. S., and Payne, J. W. (eds.), Cognition and Social Behavior, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, (pp 13-32).

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandler, T. A., and Spies, C. J. (1992). Relationship of attribution, expectancy, performance, and perceived success to change in examination preparation strategies. Percept. Motor Skills, 74: 711-722.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, M. D. (1997). Teacher response to learning disability: A test of attributional principles. J. Learn. Disab. 30: 69-79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., and Major, B. (1989). Social stigma and self-esteem: The self-protective properties of stigma. Psychol. Rev. 96: 608-630.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, J., Voelkl, K., Cornwell, B., and Major, B. (1989). Effects on self-esteem of attributing interpersonal feedback to prejudice. Unpublished manuscript, State University of New York at Buffalo.

  • Darley, J. M., and Zanna, M. P. (1982). Making moral judgments. Am. Scient. 70: 515-521.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deaux, K. (1984). From individual differences to social categories: Analysis of a decade's research on gender. Am. Psychol. 39: 105-116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deaux, K., and Emswiller, T. (1974). Explanations of successful performance on sex-linked tasks: What is skill for the male is luck for the female. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 29: 80-85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denbo, S. (1986). Improving Minority Student Achievement: Focus on the Classroom, Mid-Atlantic Center for Race Equity, The American University, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. S. (1975). The role of expectations and attributions in the alleviation of learned helplessness. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 31: 674-685.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. S., and Bush, E. S. (1976). Sex differences in learned helplessness: I. Differential debilitation with peer and adult evaluators. Develop. Psychol. 12: 147-156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. S., Davidson, W., Nelson, S., and Enna, B. (1978). Sex differences in learned helplessness: II. The contingencies of evaluative feedback in the classroom and III. An experimental analysis. Develop. Psychol. 14: 268-276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. S., and Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychol. Rev. 95: 256-273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. E., Adler, T. F., Futterman, R., Goff, S. B., Kaczala, C. M., Meece, J. I., and Midgley, C. (1983). Expectations, values and academic behaviors. In Spence, J. T. (ed.), Achievement and achievement motives, W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, (pp. 75-145).

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J., Adler, T., and Meece, J. L. (1984). Sex differences in achievement: A test of alternate theories. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 46: 26-43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., Jacobs, J. E., and Harold, R. D. (1990). Gender role stereotypes, expectancy effects, and parents' socialization of gender differences. J. Social Issues 46: 183-201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farwell, L., and Weiner, B. (1998). Bleeding hearts and the heartless: Popular perceptions of liberal and conservative ideologies. Manuscript submitted for publication.

  • Fincham, F. D., and Jaspers, J. M. (1980). Attribution of responsibility: From man the scientist to man as lawyer. In Berkowitz, L. (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Academic Press, New York, Vol. 13, pp. 82-139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiske, S. T. (1998). Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. In Gilbert, D. T., Fiske, S. T., and Lindzey, G. (eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology, 4th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, Vol. 2, pp 357-411.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsterling, F. (1985). Attribution retraining: A review. Psychol. Bull. 98: 495-512.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Forsterling, F. (1988). Attribution Theory in Clinical Psychology, Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, S. (1984). Communicated sympathy and anger to black and white children: The cognitive (attributional) consequences of affective cues. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 47: 40-54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, S. (1991). A review of attribution theory in achievement contexts. Educat. Psychol. Rev. 3: 1991.

  • Hamilton, D. L. (1979). A cognitive-attributional analysis of stereotyping. Adv. Exp. Social Psychol. 12: 53-84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, D. L., and Sherman, J. W. (1994). Stereotypes. In Wyer, R. S., Jr., and Srull, T. K. (eds.), Handbook of Social Cognition: Volume: Applications, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, D. L., Sherman, J. W., and Ruvolo, C. M. (1990). Stereotyped-based expectancies: Effects on information processing and social behavior. J. Social Issues 46: 35-69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harter, S. (1986). Processes underlying the construction, maintenance, and enhancement of the self-concept in children. In Suls, J., and Greenwald, A. G. (eds.), Psychological Perspectives on the Self, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, Vol. 3, pp. 136-182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, G. (1986, March). Finding reality among the myths: Why what you thought about sex equity in education isn't so. Phi Delta Kappan 509-511.

  • Heider, F. (1958). The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, J. W., Martinko, M. J., and Pierce, M. A. (1993). Attributional style as a predictor of success in a first computer science course. Compute. Human Behav. 9: 341-352.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, P. J., and Weiner, B. (1998). Individualism as a predictor of welfare attitudes. Manuscript submitted for publication.

  • Irvine, J. J. (1985). Teacher communication patterns as related to the race and sex of the student. J. Educat. Res. 78: 338-345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, L. A., Sullivan, L. A., and Hodge, C. N. (1993). Stereotype effects on attributions, predictions, and evaluations: No two social judgments are quite alike. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 65: 69-84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, J. E., and Eccles, J. S. (1992). The impact of mothers' gender-role stereotypic beliefs on mothers' and children's ability perceptions. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 63: 932-944.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitano, H. H. L., and Sue, S. (1973). The model minorities. J. Social Issues 29: 1-9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuykendall, C. (1996). Improving Black Student Achievement by Enhancing Student's Self Image, CNORSE, Northwest Regional Laboratories.

  • LaNoue, J. B., and Curtis, R. C. (1985). Improving women's performance in mixed-sex situations by effort attributions. Psychol. Women Quart. 9: 337-356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lummis, M., and Stevenson, H. W. (1990). Gender differences in beliefs and achievement: A cross-cultural study. Develop. Psychol. 26: 254-263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lundeberg, M. A. (1997). You guys are overreacting: Teaching prospective teachers about subtle gender bias. J. Teacher Educat. 48: 55-61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Major, B. (1995, August). Academic performance, self-esteem, and race: The role of disidentification. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, New York.

  • Meece, J. L., Wigfield, A., and Eccles, J. S. (1990). Predictors of math anxiety and its influence on young adolescents' course enrollment intentions and performance in mathematics. Special Section: Motivation and efficacy in education: Research and new directions. Journal of Education Psychology, 82, 60-70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, J. E., Meece, J. I., Adler, T. F., and Kaczala, C. M. (1982). Sex differences in attributional patterns and learned helplessness? Sex Roles. 8: 421-432.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C., and Barrett, L. C. (1987). Explanatory style and academic performance among university freshmen. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 53: 603-607.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piller, C. (1998, August 25). The gender gap goes high tech. LosAngeles Times, pp. A1, A16-17.

  • Reid, H. L., and Block, C. J. (1997). Women's analytical performance: Stereotype vulnerability and goal orientation factored into the equation. Manuscript submitted for publication.

  • Reyna, C., and Weiner, B. (1998). Homeroom justice: An attributional analysis of the goals behind the punishment and intervention strategies of high school teachers. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Rhodewalt, F., and Hill, K. (1995). Self-handicapping in the classroom: The effects of claimed self-handicaps on responses to academic failure. Basic Appl. Social Psychol. 16: 397-416.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richman, C. L., Bovelsky, S., Kroovand, N., Vacca, J., and West, T. (1997). Racism 102: The classroom. J. Black Psychol. 23: 378-387.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruble, T. L., Cohen, R., and Ruble, D. N. (1984). Sex stereotypes: Occupational barriers for women. Am. Behav. Scient. 27: 339-356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubovits, P. C., and Maehr, M. L. (1973). Pygmalion black and white. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 25: 210-218.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadker, D. (1999, April). Gender equity: Still knocking at the classroom door. Educat. Leadership 22-26.

  • Salinas, M. F., and Aronson, J. (1997). Stereotype Threat: Is low performance the price of selfesteem? Manuscript submitted for publication.

  • Shrauger, J. S., and Schohn, M. (1989). Self-confidence in college students: Conceptualization, measurement, and behavioral implications. Assessment 2: 255-278.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skitka, L. J., and Tetlock, P. E. (1993). Providing public assistance: Cognitive and motivational processes underlying liberal and conservative policy preferences. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 65: 1205-1223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sniderman, P., Hagen, M. G., Tetlock, P. E., and Brady, H. E. (1986). Reasoning chains: Causal models of policy reasoning in mass publics. Br. J. Political Sci. 16: 405-430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, S., and Steele, C. M. (1995). Under suspicion of inability: Stereotype vulnerability and women's math performance. Manuscript submitted for publication.

  • Steele, C. M. (1997/8). A burden of suspicion: How stereotypes shape the intellectual identities and performance of women and African Americans. Manuscript submitted for publication.

  • Steele, C. M., and Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 69: 797-811.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stipek, D. J. (1983). A developmental analysis of pride and shame. Human Develop. 26: 42-54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sue, S., and Kitano, H. H. L. (1973). Stereotypes as a measure of success. J. Social Issues 29: 83-98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swim, J. K., and Sanna, L. J. (1996). He's skilled, she's lucky: A meta-analysis of observers' attributions for women's and men's successes and failures. Personal. Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 507-519.

    Google Scholar 

  • Testa, M., Crocker, J., and Major, B. M. (1988, April). The self-protective function of prejudice: Effects of negative feedback and evaluator prejudice on mood and self-esteem. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago.

  • Weiner, B. (1979). A theory of motivation for some classroom experiences. J. Educat. Psychol. 71: 3-25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychol. Rev. 92: 548-573.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1986). An Attributional Theory of Motivation and Emotion, Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1991). On perceiving the other person as responsible. In Dienstbier, R. A. (ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Vol. 38, pp. 165-198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1993). On sin versus sickness: A theory of perceived responsibility and social motivation. Am. Psychol. 48: 957-965.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1994). Ability versus effort revisited: The moral determinants of achievement evaluation and achievement as a moral system. Educat. Psychol. 29: 163-172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B. (1995). Judgments of Responsibility: A Foundation for a Theory of Social Conduct, Guilford, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B., Frieze, I., Kukla, A., Reed, L., Rest, S., and Rosenbaum, R. M. (1971). Perceiving the Causes of Success and Failure, General Learning Press, Morristown, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B., Graham, S., and Reyna, C. (1997). An attributional examination of retributive versus utilitarian philosophies of punishment. Social Justice Res. 10: 431-452.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B., Heckhausen, H., Meyer, W., and Cook, R. E. (1972). Causal ascriptions and achievement behavior: A conceptual analysis of effort and reanalysis of locus of control. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 21: 239-248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B., and Kukla, A. (1970). An attributional analysis of achievement motivation. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 15: 1-20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, B., Russell, D., and Lerman, D. (1978). Affective consequences of causal ascriptions. In Harvey, J. H., Ickes, W. J., and Kidd, R. F. (eds.), New Directions in Attributional Research Erlbaum, Hillsdale, N.J.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, J. H., and Muehl, S. (1978). Relations among student and teacher perceptions of behavior. J. Negro Educat. 47: 328-336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, T. D., and Linville, P. W. (1982). Improving the academic performance of college freshmen: Attribution therapy revisited. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 42: 367-376.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, T. D., and Linville, P. W. (1985). Improving the performance of college freshmen with attributional techniques. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 49: 287-293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yarkin, K. L., Town, J. P., and Wallston, B. S. (1982). Blacks and women must try harder: Stimulus persons' race and sex attributions of causality. Personal. Social Psychol. Bull. 8: 21-24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yee, D. K., and Eccles, J. S. (1988). Parent perceptions and attributions for children's math achievement. Sex Roles 19: 317-333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zucker, G. S., and Weiner, B. (1993). Conservatism and perceptions of poverty: An attributional analysis. J. Appl. Social Psychol. 23: 925-943.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

    Christine Reyna

Authors
  1. Christine Reyna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Reyna, C. Lazy, Dumb, or Industrious: When Stereotypes Convey Attribution Information in the Classroom. Educational Psychology Review 12, 85–110 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009037101170

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009037101170

Search

Navigation