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UNDERSTANDING MOTIVATION 57result, many minority students may feel at risk of confirming this
stereotype and wonder if they can compete successfully at the college
level. Thus, just the awareness of the stereotype can affect a student’s
motivation and behavior. Steele and Aronson (1995) asked African
American and White college students to take a difficult standardized
test (verbal portion of the Graduate Record Examination). In one
condition, the experimenters presented the test as a measure of
intellectual ability and preparation. In the second condition, the
experimenters reduced the stereotype threat by telling the students
that they were not interested in measuring their ability with the test,
but were interested in the students’ verbal problem solving. The
only difference between the two conditions of the experiment was
what the researchers told the students: the test was the same; the stu-
dents were equally talented and were given the same amount of time
to complete the exam.
The results of the experiment indicated a major difference for the
African American students. When the test was presented in the
nonevaluative way, they solved about twice as many problems on the
test as when it was presented in the standard way. Moreover, there
was no difference between the performance of African American and
White test takers under the no-stereotype threat condition. For the
White students, the way the test was presented had no effect on their
performance. The researchers believed that by reducing the evaluative
condition, they were able to reduce the African American students’
anxiety, and, as a result, they performed better on the exam.
Aronson (2002) pointed out that in numerous investigations,
researchers have found that the stereotype threat condition doesn’t
reduce effort, but makes individuals try harder on tests because they
want to invalidate the stereotype. Not all individuals are equally vul-
nerable by stereotype threat. Individuals who are more vulnerable
include those who care most about doing well, people who feel a deep
sense of attachment to their ethnic or gender group, and individuals
who have higher expectations for discrimination in their environment.
Students under the stereotype threat condition appear more anxious
while taking a test. In addition, they also reread questions and recheck
their answers more often than when they are not under stereotype
threat. As a result, students placed in a stereotype threat condition
become poor test takers!
Are you vulnerable to stereotype threat as a member of a minority
group, a woman, an older student who has come back to college a num-
ber of years after graduating from high school? Can student-athletes
experience stereotype threat? Could the stereotype threat “absent-
minded professor” influence your instructor’s behavior? Has stereo-
type threat influenced your motivation or behavior in any way? Are
you aware of such influence?