The Stereotype Threat

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.