Abstract
Stereotype threat is the threat of being viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype and low expectations. According to Steel, stereotype threat plays a crucial role in influencing the intellectual performance and identity of stereotyped group members (Steele, 1997). This proposed study examines how expert influence disconfirming the negative stereotype of females’ ability in mathematics can affect the math performance of adolescent females with stereotypic and non-stereotypic beliefs. One hundred adolescent females from ethnically diverse backgrounds will be randomly assigned to control or experimental or control group and required to complete a standardized math test. It is hypothesized that the participants in the control group with
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However, what happens when participants are exposed to stereotype beliefs that are disconfirmed? A study by three social psychologists, Mugny, Selimbegovic, and Chatard, revealed that young women with non-stereotypic beliefs were more willing to pursue math or science-related careers Selimbegovic, Chatard and Mugny (2007). Present findings such as that one, provide sufficient evidence that stereotype threat can significantly impair the math performance of women who highly identify with the negative stereotype of their social group. However, in most of the previous studies, ethnic diverse backgrounds were not an important factor when selecting participants and they included participation from undergraduate students with an average age of 18 (Bonnot & Croizet, 2007; Cherney & Campbell, 2011; Davies, Spencer, Quinn & Gerhardstein, 2002). Moreover, few studies have been conducted to explore the effects of stereotype threat among adolescent females in middle school where studies have not yet shown any