Stereotypes Can Affect the Test Performance of People

Author Shankar Vedantam in his science article “How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance” implies that if a person is subjected to stereotypes it can affect your performance. The author develops this idea by first introducing his theme with a question, then he tells of experiments others have made to support this idea, and finally he wraps it up by telling us that companies and schools are victim to stereotypes and needs to stop. The author’s purpose is to explain to us how stereotypes can affect our lives in order to call out to people so we can lower the rates of stereotyping. The author establishes a educated tone for people who are interested in research and global

A substantial amount of educational and psychological research has consistently demonstrated that African American students underperform academically relative to White students. For example, they tend to receive lower grades in school (e.g., Demo & Parker, 1987; Simmons, Brown, Bush, & Blyth, 1978), score lower on standardized tests of intellectual ability (e.g., Bachman, 1970; Herring, 1989; Reyes & Stanic, 1988; Simmons et al., 1978), drop out at higher rates (e.g., American Council on Education, 1990; Steele, 1992), and graduate from college with substantially lower grades than White students (e.g., Nettles, 1988). Such performance gaps can be attributed to

Five hundred sixty five students ranging from grade 7 to grade 11 took part in this study. All students enrolled in an

An example of this is when a psychological study asked the participants to play mini golf and the test would measure natural athletic ability. The test group was all white. The study found that the white people who thought it was testing natural athletic ability did worse than the ones who didn’t. After hearing the game was going to determine, the players performance was impaired by the awareness of the stereotype that white people aren’t naturally athletic.

The college students were asked to fill out a demographic sheet asking for their age, ethnicity, gender, and educational level. Each respondent was administered a portion of the Korolewicz

This is a factor called “Stereotype Threat Theory which states that subgroup differences can typically be triggered by making the subgroup aware of the negative performance stereotype” (Palumbo and Steele-Johnson page#). African American and Latino students enrolled in college, that are enrolled in math and science courses score much lower on tests when reminded beforehand of their race or gender. Minorities are notn’t the only ones vulnerable to Stereotype Threat Theory (Paul). We are all vulnerable to stereotypes;, a study on white male math and engineering majors did worse on a math test when they were told the test was to determine “why Asians appear to outperform other students on tests of math ability” (Paul). By extensive research and tests conducted on stereotypes and Stereotype Threat Theory it can be concluded that stereotypes have a possible social-psychological brain mechanism that affects academic testing performance (Palumbo and Steele-Johnson). In order to fall into a stereotype category you need to be able identify yourself by gender or ethnic group (Hunt and Carlson 195). One of the last factors that maybe influence one’s intelligence is

Newspaper journalist shankar vedantam, in his article, “How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance,” argues that stereotypes can affect how people perform on tests. He supports his claim by first explaining that when administered a vocab test black people would do worse than whites when administered a test from a white person and blacks would do just as good when given the test from a black person . He then explains that stereotypes affect peoples performances because they psychologically incap them. Vedantam’s purpose is to inform about how the stereotypes affect people and persuades you to put a stop to it. He adopts a serious and urgent tone

Chimamanda Ngozi once said, “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” (Stereotypes). Many stereotypes effect us. They can also have a negative effect and those affected by it can feel insecure because they may be judged or treated because of that certain stereotype. Stereotypes are labels that are unfairly placed on people, and they affect all of us.

I commend you for openly saying that you have such bias against that group of people. However, as a police officer, it is your responsibility to serve and protect the people. Meaning, you have to protect everyone regardless of their gender preference. You are on your way to acceptance because you have acknowledged the problem and you can do it. We have biases towards certain groups of people, race you name it. However, it takes a brave person to acknowledged

In the article “How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance” it stated that “reminding African Americans and Latinos about their race before administering academic tests, or telling them that the tests are measures of innate intelligence, can hurt their performance compared with minorities who were not reminded about race and not told that the results reflect inherent ability.” This was said by a sociologist who has done dozens of experiments which shows that when we remember the stereotypes society has for us, we don’t do as good on certain things such as academics. Besides the fact that we don’t do good we also don’t feel good. In addition, in the survey results everyone for the most part mentioned that when they get stereotyped they feel bad about themselves and don’t feel as motivated to do things. People’s self esteem drops and it affects the way they see each other as part of this society in a negative way. This is something that everyone acknowledges but doesn’t do anything about it so it keeps making people feel bad. It makes all of us feel bad in some way and it affects the way we do in activities when we are reminded of these

During the summer before my junior year I truly felt that I transitioned from a child to the person that I am today. An event happened which became such a huge turning point in my life that I barely even recognized myself after it transpired. It occurred during volleyball camp, when one of my closest friends and I were sitting in the locker room waiting for the day to start. Our conversation started off with simple small talk. Then, completely out of the blue she told me something that felt like a punch in the stomach. She stared straight into my eyes and said “Erin, I know you’re gay.” I couldn’t do anything but stare. So many thoughts were tumbling through my head that my vision became blurry and I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what to

This concern can have ironic effects on performance and behavior that inadvertently increase an individual’s likelihood of confirming the stereotype. In their seminal research on this phenomenon, demonstrated that when the stereotype that Blacks are low in intelligence is salient, Black students underperform relative to White students on standardized tests.” (Najdowski 564) Therefore if Najdowski were to discuss this research question, she would elaborate on the fact that really the stress that the victim and the person who stereotypes is great, as due to stereotype threat, the victim would subconsciously act in such a way that conforms with the claims of the stereotype, while those who do stereotype will see the pattern, which will in turn make it even the more difficult for them to control this forced habit.

The first experiment conducted by Devine and colleagues conducted a well thought out experiment in terms of their technique. In all three studies the authors’ randomly assigned the participants to the experiments increasing the ability to generalize this sample to a larger population. In addition, the participants were asked to freely respond to the question, providing a more accurate knowledge of stereotypes because no cues were provided to influence the subjects’ knowledge. The anonymity of the participants also allows subjects to freely provide information without being judged resulting in an easier access to their private thoughts. Alternatively, in all three studies the authors recruited a number of white participants. This may produce bias in their results as stereotypes and prejudice towards blacks have historical roots in their culture. In the first study, the list of traits do not completely capture

The models of this picture are the teenage boy and girl sitting in a classroom. The faces these two are making are priceless and are one of the top elements on making this photo funny. The fact that he is trying so hard to hold something in that the veins in his face are popping out is so ridiculous that it is funny. Also the girls facial expression helps the situation in the picture because she looks so mean and intimidating. It almost looks as if the boy in holding in something so he doesn't make a fool of himself in front of her. With the situation, the two are in it makes the photo relatable using social media and everyday occurrences.

The first effect of stereotyping is a phenomenon known as “stereotype threat” that occurs in a situation where a person is in fear of unintentionally confirming a negative stereotype. Several studies have been conducted to discover the effects of stereotype threats. For example, I discovered that Toni Schmader, an assistant professor of the UA psychology department, and Michael Johns, a UA graduate (ethos), conducted studies that showed, “college women score lower on tests of mathematical ability, and Hispanic students might score lower on tests of intelligence, not because they have less ability, but because reminders of negative stereotypes temporarily decrease their ‘working memory capacity’ (UA News Services, “Exploring the Negative Consequences of Stereotyping”, UANews.Arizona.edu).” This demonstrates that the students did not do worse on the test due to their lack of skills, but rather due to negative stereotypes. In a similar study by professors Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson, African American and White college students took the same intelligence test under two conditions. In the stereotype threat condition the students were told the test would evaluate their intelligence, and in the