Stereotype Threat On The Workplace

Knowledge of negative stereotypes can influence people’s performance. Stereotype threat creates extra performance pressure through apprehensiveness about conforming to negative stereotypes (Woolfolk &

In a study conducted by Ford and Tonander (1998), it was hypothesized that when one’s social identity was threatened by a group who is largely different from them, that individual is likely to form stereotypes. This is based

Stereotypes are socially constructed, over-generalized views regarding a particular group of persons with certain characteristics that are widely accepted, and usually expected, in a society. The dominant group of a certain society, which in this case is probably Caucasians and men, usually creates these social constructions. Claude M. Steele, a researcher from Stanford University, performed multiple research studies on the idea and psychological effects of stereotypes on its victims. In his studies, he coins the term “stereotype threat” as the “social-psychological predicament that can arise from widely-known negative stereotypes about one's group,” which implies that “the existence of such a stereotype means that anything one does or any of one's features that conform to it make the stereotype more plausible as a self-characterization in the eyes of others, and perhaps even in one's own eyes” (Steele 797).

According to Metz (2011), women are being deprived of opportunities and being squeezed out of organisations due to preconceptions about their dedication to a long term role, based on outdated gender stereotypes. In general, women experience higher rates of harassment at work, compared to men(McLaughlin, Uggen and Blackstone 2012).

Gender stereotypes are one of the most common encountered on a daily basis. The infamous ‘Glass Ceiling’ still exists in many areas of the professional world, restricting valid promotions simply based on gender. This type of concept can be verified by looking at comparative weekly wages of other professionals in a variety of industries. Most people will generally see female dominated occupations, such as nurse, teacher and secretary as requiring feminine personality traits and physical attributes for success; whereas male dominated occupations such as doctor, lawyer, and business executive are seen to require male personality traits for success (Sanderson, 2010, p. 344).

Stereotype threat is when a person who belongs to a group that has previously been negatively stereotyped unintentionally lets their self- doubt affect their performance, thereby positively confirming the negative stereotype about that said group. An example of this would be how white males who are taking a math test perform worse when they believe they are competing against Asian males taking the same test. Test validity refers to the ability in which a test accurately measures what it is proposing to measure. For example, if a teacher tells her class they are going to be tested on addition, problems like 5+5= and 10+10= would yield valid test results. However, if the questions were 5x5= and 10x10=, the results of the test would hold no validity,

How have my own experiences conforming to stereotypes equipped me to deal with stereotype threats that may be present in my sessions with students as a Speaking Fellow? My past is inundated with the roles I have adopted. As the single female in a combat unit in the military this stereotype manifested as I forfeited my femininity to become one of the boys. I had no desire to be seen as a woman who needed to be coddled (as the men I served with presumed) so I assumed the role of tomboy, eating as they, sporting baggy, unfitted pants to cover my womanly curves, and sacrificing my use of silverware in my efforts to be “just one of the guys.” As I matriculated to Barnard, my identity changed again. Barnard’s slogan is “bold, beautiful,

“Stereotypes are categories that constrain and shape what a person believes about, and expects from, other people” (Bartlett 1910). The workplace is one of the most active environments for women to be stereotyped against. Women are judged in ways such as being weaker than, and not as active as a man. This can be a problem for a woman in a male dominated occupation by making them feel, or seem, not as valuable as a man. For example, women in the police field will face the struggle of being seen as weaker, gentler, and to submissive to fight crime compared to men. This type of behavior leads to women not receiving much earned promotions, and having more struggles applying to male dominating jobs.

2. Dunlap, J. (2013). Stereotype threat. In P. L. Mason (Ed.), Encyclopedia of race and racism(2nd ed.). Farmington, MI: Gale. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/galerace/stereotype_threat/0?institutionId=4358

perpetuate in different social groups. Stereotype threat, as defined by Steele, is “being at risk of

Is it possible that the way society sees a group can influence how that group performs on tests of intelligence? According to the Stereotype Threat Theory, it can. Stereotype Threat Theory “refers to the conscious or unconscious belief that one belongs to a group stereotypically known for specific performance deficits. The hypothesis is that these beliefs lead to suboptimal performance on tasks specific to the stereotype” (Stoet 94). Stereotype threat leads to a large gap between privileged, un-stereotyped groups and affected groups in society with regards to jobs, education, and social interactions. This gap comes from stereotyped groups feeling they need to act in the way society tells them to, creating societal “chains” on these groups, essentially an unstated law telling them what they can and cannot do. This is because stereotype threat causes groups to identify with what society provides their status to be Experiments show commonly stereotyped groups perform worse on intellectual tests they are told their group generally does bad on. Therefore, commonly stereotyped groups suffer from the stereotype threat on intellectual tests.

From the beginning of time the male and female have been expected to perform certain roles in society. Males have been expected to work and provide for their family while the female raises the children, cooks, cleans and keeps the house in order. Today many women have broken that tradition and are starting their careers and becoming more independent. Even though females today are braking away from that stereotype, they are being discriminated in the work place because there are still individuals out there that believe that women should play a certain role and that they are not strong enough to work in a cooperation or

In general terms, stereotype threat is being at risk of confirming, as self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one’s group (Steele, 1997). “The existence of such a stereotype means that anything that one does or any of one’s features that conform to it make the stereotype more reasonable as a self- characterization in the eyes of others, and perhaps even in one’s own eyes” (Steele, 1992). People are stereotyped according to their group. A group can be identified by race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion among others. Stereotypes

The presences of stereotypes are overwhelming and are developed by both the environment a subject is raised in and their family. Stereotypes, which are pervasive throughout different societies, become intertwined in the collective values of the society as justification for all forms of social, economic, and political inequality among groups (Devine and Elliot 2000;Kaplan 2004; Operario and Fiske 2004). As people become more exposed to stereotypes they start to become a permanent part of a person’s life, they begin to stereotype themselves almost always involuntarily.

Stereotypes are a part of everyday life. They help us differentiate and categorize to make quick decision on a person's character; however, stereotyping can be misleading or incorrect resulting in false judgment and mistreatment. In the workplace, this can show to be especially heinous. Stereotyping is a preconceived notion that all members of a group are the same, and behave in the same way. This act of judging others based on perception can cause many problems; especially when linked to the work environment.