Year

2023

Season

Summer

Paper Type

Master's Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree Name

Master of Science in Psychological Science (MSPS)

Department

Psychology

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. Department of Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Elizabeth R. Brown

Second Advisor

Dr. Angela Mann

Abstract

Women completing math tasks under stereotype threat underperform and experience increased negative outcomes compared to women under no threat and men. While previous interventions for stereotype threat focus on self-affirmation or role models as a means to reduce the effects of stereotype threat, the current study examines whether using a strategic mindset to increase self-reflection mitigates the negative effects of stereotype threat on women in math. Undergraduate women (N=149) were randomly assigned to read an article about the benefits of having a strategic mindset or taking cold showers. Participants were then randomly assigned to a stereotype threat condition (women perform worse than men on a modular arithmetic task), or a no threat condition (men and women perform similarly on a modular arithmetic task). Participants under stereotype threat expected to perform worse on the task than women under no threat but participants’ actual performance on the modular arithmetic task across all conditions did not differ. Strategic mindset interacted with stereotype threat such that women under no threat experienced less state anxiety in the control condition compared to those in the strategic mindset condition. Future studies should investigate how cognition relates to stereotype threat to determine if a strategic mindset is a viable solution to reduce stereotype threat or if a different cognitive intervention is needed.

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