Reducing stereotype threat by blurring intergroup boundaries

Rosenthal, H.E.S.; Crisp, R.J.

Abstract

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.

Citation

Rosenthal, H., & Crisp, R. (2006). Reducing stereotype threat by blurring intergroup boundaries. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(4), 501-511. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167205281009

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2006
• Deposit Date: Jan 28, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 28, 2009
• Journal: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
• Print ISSN: 0146-1672
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-7433
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 501-511
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167205281009
• Keywords: Stereotype threat, Social categorization, Math performance, Career preference, Gender differences.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1574016