Stereotype threat occurs when knowledge of a negative stereotype about a social group leads to less-than-optimal performance by members of that group. Although the stereotype threat phenomenon has been extensively studied in academic and cognitively-based tasks, it has received little attention in sport. This article reviews the existent literature on stereotype threat and discusses its implications for sports performance. The causal mechanisms of stereotype threat in sport are examined, followed by a discussion of why the cognitive processes thought to govern negative stereotype-induced performance decrements in academic and cognitively based tasks (e.g., GRE or SAT tests) may not unequivocally extend to sport skills. Finally, factors that should moderate the impact of stereotype threat in sport are outlined. Because stereotype threat has important consequences for athletics (e.g., impairing athletic performance, maintaining the underrepresentation of minority athletes in certain sports), it is a phenomenon that deserves greater attention in sport and exercise psychology research.
Search Results
Stereotype Threat and Sport: Can Athletic Performance Be Threatened?
Sian L. Beilock and Allen R. McConnell
Can Stereotype Threat Affect Motor Performance in the Absence of Explicit Monitoring Processes?: Evidence Using a Strength Task
Aïna Chalabaev, Jeanick Brisswalter, Rémi Radel, Stephen A. Coombes, Christopher Easthope, and Corentin Clément-Guillotin
Previous evidence shows that stereotype threat impairs complex motor skills through increased conscious monitoring of task performance. Given that one-step motor skills may not be susceptible to these processes, we examined whether performance on a simple strength task may be reduced under stereotype threat. Forty females and males performed maximum voluntary contractions under stereotypical or nullified-stereotype conditions. Results showed that the velocity of force production within the first milliseconds of the contraction decreased in females when the negative stereotype was induced, whereas maximal force did not change. In males, the stereotype induction only increased maximal force. These findings suggest that stereotype threat may impair motor skills in the absence of explicit monitoring processes, by influencing the planning stage of force production.
The Effect of Gender Stereotype Threat and Conceptions of Ability on Motor Learning and Working Memory
Narges Nahidi, Esmaeel Saemi, Mohammadreza Doustan, Joshua Aronson, and Raphaël Laurin
of individuals, particularly women ( Fredricks & Eccles, 2005 ). Stereotype threat is a social, affective, and cognitive variable that arises when stereotype beliefs held about a certain group and, in connection to a particular area, can undermine performance ( Steele & Aronson, 1995 ) and learning
Introducing the Task as a Challenge Does Not Mitigate the Negative Effect of Gender Stereotype Threat on Motor Skill Learning in Adolescents
Sara Soltanifar, Rasool Abedanzadeh, Adele Ahmadinezhad, and Seyyed Mohammadreza Mousavi
Most likely, each of us have heard phrases and seen cues throughout our lives that contain information about gender roles and the expectations of what women and men are supposed to do. Gender stereotype threat attempts to predict or prejudge the performance of individuals belonging to the targeted
Overweight Stereotype Threat Negatively Impacts the Learning of a Balance Task
Priscila Lopes Cardozo and Suzete Chiviacowsky
Several studies have demonstrated the detrimental effects of stereotype threat on the performance of academic and motor skills, while little attention has been given to the effects of stereotypical conditions on motor learning. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of overweight stereotype threat on women learning a balance task. Participants practiced 10 trials of a dynamic balance task and their learning was observed in a retention test one day later. Before practice, the stereotype threat (ST) group received instructions introducing the task as influenced by individual differences, whereby overweight people usually present worse outcomes. For the reduced stereotype threat group (RST), instructions informed them that the task was not influenced by individual differences. Participants also filled out a questionnaire measuring intrinsic motivation. The results showed that performance and learning, as well as perceived competence, were enhanced for participants of the RST group compared with participants of the ST group. The findings provide evidence that overweight stereotype threat affects the learning of motor skills.
Do Achievement Goals Mediate Stereotype Threat?: An Investigation on Females’ Soccer Performance
Aïna Chalabaev, Philippe Sarrazin, Jeff Stone, and François Cury
This research investigated stereotype threat effects on women’s performance in sports and examined the mediation of this effect by achievement goals. The influence of two stereotypes—relative to the poor athletic ability and the poor technical soccer ability of women—were studied. Fifty-one female soccer players were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, introducing the task as diagnostic of athletic ability, technical soccer ability, or sports psychology. Next, they filled out a questionnaire measuring achievement goals and performed a soccer dribbling task. Results showed that compared with the control condition, females’ performance significantly decreased in the athletic ability condition and tended to decrease in the technical soccer ability condition. Moreover, participants endorsed a performance-avoidance (relative to performance-approach) goal when the stereotypes were activated. However, this goal endorsement was not related to performance. The implications of these results for understanding the role of stereotypes in gender inequalities in sports are discussed.
“Men are Better Than Women!” The Positive Effect of a Negative Stereotype Toward Women on a Self-Paced Cycling Exercise
Maxime Deshayes, Corentin Clément-Guillotin, and Raphaël Zory
According to the stereotype threat model ( Steele, 1997 ), people may underperform on a task when thinking about the negative performance expectations for their own group (for a review in the sports field, see Chalabaev, Sarrazin, Fontayne, Boiché, & Clément-Guillotin, 2013 ; Gentile, Boca
Dealing With Negative Stereotypes in Sports: The Role of Cognitive Anxiety When Multiple Identities Are Activated in Sensorimotor Tasks
Sarah E. Martiny, Ilka H. Gleibs, Elizabeth J. Parks-Stamm, Torsten Martiny-Huenger, Laura Froehlich, Anna-Lena Harter, and Jenny Roth
Based on research on stereotype threat and multiple identities, this work explores the beneficial effects of activating a positive social identity when a negative identity is salient on women’s performance in sports. Further, in line with research on the effects of anxiety in sports, we investigate whether the activation of a positive social identity buffers performance from cognitive anxiety associated with a negative stereotype. Two experiments tested these predictions in field settings. Experiment 1 (N = 83) shows that the simultaneous activation of a positive (i.e., member of a soccer team) and a negative social identity (i.e., woman) led to better performance than the activation of only a negative social identity for female soccer players. Experiment 2 (N = 46) demonstrates that identity condition moderated the effect of cognitive anxiety on performance for female basketball players. Results are discussed concerning multiple identities’ potential for dealing with stressful situations.
“You Kick Like A Girl!” The Effects of Gender Stereotypes on Motor Skill Learning in Young Adolescents
Seyyed Mohammadreza Mousavi, Laura Gray, Sahar Beik, and Maxime Deshayes
impact of these beliefs on human performance have been of interest to researchers for the last two decades, especially through the stereotype threat theory ( Steele, 1997 ). According to this theory, negative stereotypes (NSs) make people expect to perform poorly, and consequently, it affects the
The Effects of Stereotypes and Observer Pressure on Athletic Performance
Anne Krendl, Izzy Gainsburg, and Nalini Ambady
Although the effects of negative stereotypes and observer pressure on athletic performance have been well researched, the effects of positive stereotypes on performance, particularly in the presence of observers, is not known. In the current study, White males watched a video either depicting Whites basketball players as the best free throwers in the NBA (positive stereotype), Black basketball players as the best free throwers in the NBA (negative stereotype), or a neutral sports video (control). Participants then shot a set of free throws, during which half the participants were also videotaped (observer condition), whereas the other half were not (no observer condition). Results demonstrated that positive stereotypes improved free throw performance, but only in the no observer condition. Interestingly, observer pressure interacted with the positive stereotype to lead to performance decrements. In the negative stereotype condition, performance decrements were observed both in the observer and no observer conditions.
