Exploring Stereotype Threat and Stereotype Boost: The Impact of Manner of Stereotype Activation

Master's Thesis from the year 2005 in the subject Psychology - Social Psychology, grade: wird in USA nicht bewertet, Indiana University (Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences), language: English, abstract: The concept of stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995) has received considerable attention in the past few years. In several studies, Steele and his colleagues took a close look at the influence that negative stereotypes can have on individuals in performance-related situations. As a reaction to the initial concept, the research also extended to other phenomena related to stereotype threat, such as the influence of positive stereotypes in performance-related situations. However, this investigation of the other side of stereotype threat and further studies that have been done regarding stereotype threat in general resulted in contradicting findings. My thesis presents a focused review of the available literature first. This is done to provide a basis for the conceptual framework Shih and colleagues proposed (Shih, Ambady, Richeson, Fujita & Gray, 2002). Their work integrates the conflicting findings and suggests two possible factors that might regulate the effects that positive and negative stereotypes have on people: selfrelevance and the manner of stereotype activation. In my study, I tested this framework in replicating and critically evaluating the study Shih et al. (2002) have conducted. The results and implications for future research are presented.