Stereotype Threat and the Evaluative Context of Communication

Abstract

We explored the impact of “stereotype threat” —that is, distress associated with the prospect of confirming a negative stereotype—on communication in evaluative contexts. Participants engaged in a conflict resolution simulation framed as diagnostic of their ability either to be a leader or to maintain close personal relationships. Women were less fluent and used more tentative language under leadership than relational maintenance framing, but men were less fluent and more tentative under relational maintenance than leadership framing. The influence of stereotype frame on the rates of disfluencies and tentative language was partially mediated by state anxiety. Our findings demonstrate that the effects of situationally induced stereotype threat on communication behavior are comparable to its effects on intellectual test performance. Consequences of stereotype threat for impression formation and strategies for reducing its impact on social interaction are discussed.