Getting Past ‘Stereotype Threat’

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Researchers have known for decades that stereotyping students can cause them to succeed or fail. But Claude Steele, a social psychologist and provost at Columbia University, has found that students' own worries about negative stereotypes can hinder their performance.

He’s called the phenomenon “stereotype threat.” And he’s found it is no respecter of gender, race or ethnicity.

In a classic experiment, racially mixed groups of athletes were tested on a golf-related task. When one group was told the task measured natural athletic ability, the African-American athletes did better than the whites. But the scores were reversed when athletes were told the task measured the ability to think strategically. The flip suggested both groups were intimidated by negative stereotypes—and those worries influenced their performances.

In this NPR interview Steele notes that stereotype threat is a “significant component of the achievement gap” between minority and majority students, especially in integrated school settings. He urges teachers to combat the threat by maintaining high standards for all students, while creating opportunities for students to interact with each other across racial and ethnic lines.

Steele’s prescription is equal parts academic rigor, cultural sensitivity and self-awareness. Those same elements compose the Teaching Diverse Students Initiative, or TDSi, from Teaching Tolerance. TDSi is an online resource for teachers who are committed to helping students of color cross the achievement gap. Learn more about the initiative and its tools at http://www.tolerance.org/tdsi/about_tdsi.