Worklife with Adam Grant Breaking free of stereotype threat with Claude Steele
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Jan 24, 2023 Claude Steele, a pioneering social psychologist and emeritus professor at Stanford, delves into the impact of stereotype threat on performance. He explains how mere awareness of stereotypes can lead to anxiety and cognitive interference, particularly among marginalized groups. The conversation shifts to self-affirmation as a powerful tool to combat these effects, fostering resilience and growth. They discuss the flaws of high-stakes testing and suggest low-stakes alternatives. Claude emphasizes the importance of acceptance and belonging in mitigating stereotype threats, especially for professional women.
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The Puzzle of Underperformance
- At the University of Michigan, Black students performed worse than other students at every SAT score level.
- This suggests that factors beyond academic preparation, like stereotype threat, were affecting their performance.
Discovering Stereotype Threat
- Steele and Spencer conducted a study with women in math, giving them a difficult test.
- When told the test had no gender performance difference, women's scores matched men's, demonstrating stereotype threat.
The Psychology of Stereotype Threat
- Stereotype threat creates a state of “churn” with intrusive worries about confirming stereotypes.
- This affects working memory, attention, and even brain activation patterns.
