Year: 2004
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This study investigated forewarning as a preventive strategy against \nstereotype threat—a situation-evoked anxiety linked to minority \nunderperformance on standardized tests. During evaluative tasks, concerns about \npossibly confirming a group-based negative stereotype may interfere with \ncognitive performance. The lack of an apparent stressor may lead an individual to \nattribute stress to personal inability. However, the true stressor is the negative \nstereotype aroused by the testing situation. This dissertation addressed whether \nforewarning participants about stereotype threat would ease or exacerbate threat \neffects on the cognitive performance of African Americans. In addition, this \nstudy examined the relationship between self-compassion and post-test anxiety \nand cognitive interference. Further, the relationships between self-compassion, \nsocial identity strength, and rejection sensitivity were explored. \nPrior to completing a challenging reading test under stereotype threatening \nor non-threatening test conditions, African American college students read a short \ntext that described either stereotype threat or general test anxiety. The control \ngroup read a text unrelated to stereotypes, testing, or anxiety. The results revealed \nthat participants forewarned about stereotype threat outperformed those \nforewarned about general test anxiety and the control group, when testing under \nstereotype threat conditions. Forewarning, either about stereotype threat or test \nanxiety, did not impair performance under non-threatening conditions. An \ninteresting finding was that those forewarned about stereotype threat reported \ngreater anxiety than the forewarned-test anxiety group and the control group. It \nwas also found that self-compassion was negatively correlated with anxiety and \ncognitive interference and that the magnitude of these correlations was greater \nunder threatening conditions than under non-threatening test conditions. Further, \nself-compassion was positively related to social identity strength and unrelated to \nrace-based rejection sensitivity. \nThe results suggest that foreknowledge helps African American college \nstudents to resist stereotype threat effects on cognitive performance. Further, it \nappears that self-compassion may prove beneficial in assuaging emotional and \ncognitive reactivity tied to stereotype threat. These findings point to the \nimportance of identifying the mechanisms by which foreknowledge influences \nthought and behavior. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future \nresearch are discussed.
Author: Jeannetta G. Williams
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1836363693