How Stereotypes Affect Us (And What We Can Do)

Claude Steele paints a compelling picture, through personal stories and research results, of how simply being aware of negative stereotypes toward our social group diminishes our ability to perform. 

The threat of stigma is sufficient to have a significant deleterious effect on performance. According to Steele, this phenomenon, which he and his colleagues call stereotype threat, permeates American culture, particularly in schools and colleges. 

Recent theory and research on the concept of stereotype threat suggests that reminders of a negative stereotype about racial identity can impede performance in a relevant domain. According to Steele and his colleagues , when a negative stereotype about a group becomes salient as a criterion for test evaluation, individual group members can become concerned about confirming the negative stereotype. The concern raised by the salience of the stereotype can subsequently cause individual group members to perform more poorly than they would in a neutral context.