stereotype threat

an individual’s expectation that negative stereotypes about his or her member group will adversely influence others’ judgments of his or her performance and that a poor performance will reflect badly on the member group. This expectation may undermine the individual’s actual ability to perform well. In an academic setting, for example, it has been shown that African American students’ performance in tests of intellectual ability can suffer because of anxiety induced by thinking that they are expected to perform poorly and will be judged according to negative stereotypes about Black intelligence. See also prejudice. [identified in 1995 by U.S. psychologists Claude M. Steele (1946– ) and Joshua Aronson (1961– )]

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

groupthink

n. a strong concurrence-seeking tendency that interferes with effective group decision making. Symptoms include apparent unanimity, illusions of invulnerability and moral correctness, biased perceptions of the outgroup, interpersonal pressure, self-censorship, and defective decision-making strategies. Causes are thought to include group cohesion and isolation, poor leadership, and the stress involved in making decisions. [identified by Irving L. Janis]