Countering Stereotype Threat HUMN6204

In the summer of 1992, Mattel’s Teen Talk Barbie came under fire for one of her 270 phrases, famously, “Math class is tough!” Research indicates that girls are in fact influenced by stereotypes early in their educational lives (Steele, 2003). Often, simply knowing that a group is expected to perform less well in a domain will increase the likelihood of poorer performance. Whether they be academic performance or choices on a doll test, the consequences of such covert and subtle forms of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination take a cumulative, life-draining toll on their targets. This week’s media resource gives you a clear illustration of the impact of stereotype threat.

For this Assignment, review the example of stereotype threat from the media in this week’s Learning Resources. Think about how stereotype threat is present in the example and about strategies an individual might take to counter this threat.

• Reference: Steele, J. (2003). Children’s gender stereotypes about math: The role of stereotype stratification. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33(12), 2587–2606.

The Assignment 

• Explain the concept of stereotype threat.
• Describe the example of stereotype threat present in the media resource.
• Explain how stereotype threat impacted group identity and/or performance.
• Explain two strategies to counter that stereotype threat.