This document discusses using social psychology to reduce inequality in classrooms. It describes how stereotype threat, the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's social group, can undermine the performance, motivation, and health of students from diverse groups. Research studies are presented that show how subtle cues in test instructions or environmental cues can trigger stereotype threat and negatively impact performance for groups like women in math. The author discusses field experiments conducted with educators to design interventions aimed at reducing racial and gender achievement gaps by altering the psychological climate to lessen stereotype threat. The impacts of stereotype threat are shown to extend beyond just performance to areas like health, leadership, and neurological functioning. Addressing stereotype threat is presented as a way to

1. Using
Social
Psychology
to
Li1
Achievement
and
Reduce
Inequality
in
the
Classroom
Valerie
Purdie-­‐Vaughns
Columbia
University

2. Smart people in key places….
More effective tools for assessing
change….
Broadening participation?

3. • For
people
who
are
members
of
diverse
groups,
hidden
and
overt
bias
can
cause
added
stress
(stress
not
faced
by
others)
that
can
undermine
performance,
mo@va@on,
and
health.
• Broadening
par@cipa@on
requires
altering
the
psychological
climate
to
reduce
this
stress.
Take Home Message

4. (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2012)
Racial Achievement Gap (Reading, 8th Grade)
by State, 2011
Darker red = greater gap
Grey = no data available

5. Field-­‐based
research
interven@ons
designed
by
social
psychologists
to
reduce
racial
and
gender
opportunity
gaps
in
academic
performance.
• Partnering
with
educators
to
apply
social
psychology
theories
of
iden@ty
to
educa@on.
• Longitudinal-­‐experimental
interven@ons
in
middle
schools,
high
schools
and
colleges.
NSF
ADVANCE
#0723909,
154685
(Closing
achievement
gap:
A
social
psychological
interven@on)
NSF
RAPID#
0918075
Tes@ng
the
effects
of
the
inaugura@on
of
the
first
African
American
President
on
the
affirma@on
process
NSF
ADVANCE
#1109548
(Reducing
racial
achievement
gaps:
Tes@ng
Neurobiological
Mechanisms)
Project ACHIEVE

6. STEREOTYPE
THREAT
For
people
who
are
members
of
diverse
groups,
hidden
and
overt
bias
can
cause
added
stress
(stress
not
faced
by
others)
that
can
undermine
performance,
mo@va@on,
and
health.
6

7. Stereotype Threat
The
threat
of
being
viewed
through
the
lens
of
a
nega@ve
stereotype
or
the
fear
of
doing
something
that
would
inadvertently
confirm
that
stereotype.
Members
of
diverse
groups
can
be
wary
of
situa@ons
in
which
their
behavior
can
confirm
that
their
GROUP
lacks
a
valued
ability.
This
extra
pressure
caused
by
the
concern
of
reinforcing
stereotypes
can
interfere
with
performance.
(C.M.
Steele
&
Aronson,
1995))

8. Something
I
deal
with
constantly,
especially
considering
my
educa@on
taking
place
in
the
North,
is
how
since
I
came
from
North
Carolina…like
I
should
be
a
red-­‐neck
or
have
a
southern
drawl
and
drop
out
of
college.
The
Southern
town
I
live
in
is
Chapel
Hill,
one
of
my
liberal
college
towns
in
the
USA…
(college student)
Stereotype Threat

9. Stereotype Threat
“I
knew
I
was
just
as
intelligent
as
everyone
else
.
.
.
.
For
some
reason
I
didn’t
score
well
on
tests.
Maybe
I
was
just
nervous.
There’s
a
lot
of
pressure
on
you,
knowing
that
if
you
fail,
you
fail
your
race.”
Rodney
Ellis,
State
Senator
(Texas),
1997
II. Hidden Stress

10. Female
and
male
college
students
who
care
about
math
take
a
difficult
math
test
(Sample
Math
GRE).
Test
instruc@ons
say
“no-­‐
gender-­‐
differences”
OR standard test
instructions.
II. Hidden Stress
(Steele, Quinn, & Spencer, 1997)
Women in the Math and Sciences

11. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Control No-Gender-Difference
Scorecorrectedforguessing
Men
Women
(Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999)
Women in the Math and Sciences

12. 1. Black and white undergraduates take a difficult section of
Verbal GRE.
2. Test instructions:
3. Measure test performance: number of questions correct
(corrected for guessing, used SAT as covariate)
Test is accurate
measure of verbal ability
Test is instrument for
solving problems
African-Americans

13. 0
5
10
15
Diagnostic Nondiagnostic
Scorecorrectedforguessing
Whites
Blacks
(Steele & Aronson, 1995)
African-Americans

14. Female college student
test performance with
two male test takers.
Female college
student test
performance with two
female test takers.
Other forms of stereotype threat

15. White male students in comparison to Asian American male
student in math
Other forms of stereotype threat

16. 0
5
10
15
Control No-Age-Difference
Scoreonmemorytask
younger
older
(Levy, Slade, Kunkel & Kasl, 2002)
Older adults and memory

17. Performance:
(Dananhar
&
Crandall;
Massey
&
Fischer,
2005;
Reardon,
Adeberry,
Arshan,
&
Kurlander,
2009;
Walton
&
Spencer,
2009
)
Leadership:
(Schmader
et
al.,
under
review)
Health:
(Cook,
Purdie-­‐Vaughns,
et
al.,
under
review;
Logel
&
Cohen,
2012)
Stereotype threat in the real world

18. Stereotype threat stems from historic
and contemporary threat systemic
in school structures.

19. “…innate
differences
between
men
and
women
might
be
one
reason
fewer
women
succeed
in
science
and
math
careers.”

20. Star Trek
poster
Coke cans
Sci Fi books
Stereotypical room
Classroom
Environments
Cheryan,
Plaut,
Davies
&
Steele,
2009

21. Nature
poster
Neutral
books Water
bottles
Non-stereotypical room
Classroom
Environments
Cheryan,
Plaut,
Davies
&
Steele,
2009

22. Interaction: F(1, 35) = 10.22, p < .01
Environment
influences
women s
interest
in
CS
Cheryan,
Plaut,
Davies
&
Steele,
2009

23. Contextual
Cogni@ve
Physiological
Beyond Performance: A Multilevel
Phenomenon
• Low
recruitment
of
areas
associated
with
learning
(inf.
PFC,
le1
inf.
parietal
cort.,
bilateral
angular
gyrus),
over
recruitment
of
areas
associated
with
self-­‐
regula@on
of
emo@ons
(ventral
anterior
cingulate
cort)
• Increased
arousal
(cor@sol),
higher
cardiovascular
reac@vity,
heightened
immune
system
response
(TNFα)
• Impaired
execu@ve
func@oning,
working
memory
• Decreased
trust/belonging,
perceived
threat
Neurological
Krendl,
Richeson,
Kelley,
&
Heatherton,
2008;
Schmader
&
Johns,
2003;
Schmader,
Johns,
&
Forbes,
2008;
Blascovich,
Spencer,
Quinn,
&
Steele,
2001;

24. • Stereotype
threat
affects
any
group
that
is
seen
“through
the
lens”
of
a
nega@ve
stereotype
in
a
par@cular
context.
• Stereotype
threat
is
a
mul@level
phenomenon
that
implicates
psychological
and
biological
systems
in
the
human
body.
• Stereotype
threat
stems
from
historic
and
contemporary
structural
factors
that
perpetuate
stereotypes
in
classrooms
and
ins@tu@ons
more
broadly.
Take Home Message

25. THE
SCIENCE
OF
BROADENING
PARTICIPATION
25
Broadening participation requires altering the
psychological climate to reduce this stress.

26. • Diagnosing
the
psychological
climate.
• Tes@ng
interven@ons
that
reduce
stereotype
threat.
• Providing
unambiguous
clear
feedback
of
high
expecta@ons
and
iden@ty
will
not
be
a
barrier
to
success.
(Wise
Interven@ons)
• Providing
psychological
resources
to
reduce
threat
(Values-­‐Affirma@on
Interven@ons)
• Capture
a
moment
in
@me
when
psychological
climate
changed
in
schools
(Obama
Effect
Interven@ons)
• Extrac@ng
best
prac@ces
and
lessons
learned
that
can
be
applied
na@onwide
in
schools
and
workplaces.
The Science of Broadening Participation…

27. WISE-­‐FEEDBACK
INTERVENTIONS
27
(Yeager, Purdie-Vaughns, Cohen, & Garcia, under review, Child Development)

28. How
can
you
be
cri@cal
of
a
student’s
behavior
without
undermining
the
mo@va@on
and
self-­‐confidence
needed
to
improve?
Today’s
proposal:
Providing
unambiguous
clear
feedback
of
high
expecta@ons
and
assurance
that
student
can
reach
those
expecta@ons.
This
reassures
them
that
their
iden@ty
will
not
be
a
barrier
to
success.
The Mentor’s Dilemma…

29. • Convey
to
stereotyped
individuals
that
they
are
seen
in
their
“full
humanity,”
and
not
through
the
lens
of
a
stereotype.
(Goffman,
1963;
Cohen
&
Steele,
2002)
“Wise” Interventions

30. STUDY
1
Original
test
of
wise
interven@on
strategy
on
minority
student
performance
in
college.
30
(Cohen,
Steele,
&
Ross,
1999)

31. • Unbuffered
cri@cism
• “Unwise”:
Cri@cism
+
posi@ve
buffer:
– Overall,
nice
job.
Your
enthusiasm
for
your
teacher
really
shows
through,
…
You
have
some
interes@ng
ideas
in
your
leper
and
make
some
good
points.
…
I’ve
provided
….
suggested
several
areas
that
could
be
improved.
• “Wise”:
Cri@cism
+
high
standards
+
Assurance:
– Judged
by
a
higher
standard,
the
one
that
really
counts,
that
is,
whether
your
leper
will
be
publishable
in
our
journal,
I
have
serious
reserva@ons.
The
comments
I
provide
in
the
following
pages
are
quite
cri@cal
but
I
hope
helpful.
Remember,
I
wouldn’t
go
to
the
trouble
of
giving
you
this
feedback
if
I
didn’t
think,
based
on
what
I’ve
read
in
your
leper,
that
you
are
capable
of
mee@ng
the
higher
standard
I
men@oned.
31
“Wise” Interventions: Laboratory study with
college students.

32. • Unbuffered
cri@cism
• “Unwise”:
Cri@cism
+
posi@ve
buffer:
– Overall,
nice
job.
Your
enthusiasm
for
your
teacher
really
shows
through,
…
You
have
some
interes@ng
ideas
in
your
leper
and
make
some
good
points.
…
I’ve
provided
….
suggested
several
areas
that
could
be
improved.
• “Wise”:
Cri+cism
+
high
standards
+
Assurance:
– Judged
by
a
higher
standard,
the
one
that
really
counts,
that
is,
whether
your
le>er
will
be
publishable
in
our
journal,
I
have
serious
reserva+ons.
The
comments
I
provide
in
the
following
pages
are
quite
cri+cal
but
I
hope
helpful.
Remember,
I
wouldn’t
go
to
the
trouble
of
giving
you
this
feedback
if
I
didn’t
think,
based
on
what
I’ve
read
in
your
le>er,
that
you
are
capable
of
mee+ng
the
higher
standard
I
men+oned.
32
“Wise” Interventions: Laboratory study with
college students.

33. 1
2
3
4
5
6
unbuffered
cri@cism
cri@cism
+
posi@ve
buffer
cri@cism
+
high
standards
and
assurance
taskmotivation
Whites Blacks
(Cohen, Steele, & Ross, 1999)
“Wise” Interventions: Laboratory study with
college students.

34. STUDIES
1-­‐2
Field
experiment
in
middle
school.
34
(Yeager,
Purdie-­‐Vaughns,
Cohen,
&
Garcia,
under
review,
Child
Development)

35. • 7th
graders
in
middle
school
(may
be
development
“fork
in
the
road”) (Eccles, Lord, &
Midgley, 1991; Simmons, Black, & Zhou, 1991)
• School
is
economically
middle
class
(23%
receive
free
lunch)
and
located
in
Northeastern
U.S.
• Student
body
approximately
50%
African-­‐
American,
50%
White.
Research site information
“Wise” Interventions: Field experiment in
middle school

36. • Black
and
White
7th
grade
students
wrote
an
essay
about
their
hero.
• White
teachers
grade
and
give
feedback.
– “Control”
– “Wise”
(High
standards
+
assurance).
“Wise” Interventions: Field experiment in
middle school

37. “Wise feedback” group:
I’m giving you these
comments because I
have high standards
and I know that you
can meet them.

38. Control group:
I’m giving you
these comments
so you have
feedback on your
essay.

39. 62%"
17%"
87%"
72%"
0%"
10%"
20%"
30%"
40%"
50%"
60%"
70%"
80%"
90%"
100%"
White Students" Black Students"
PercentRevisingEssay"
Control "
High Standards + Assurance "
Percentage of students resubmitting their
essay at end of week.

40. Study
2

41. 11.41"
9.42"
12.11" 11.95"
8"
9"
10"
11"
12"
13"
14"
White Students" Black Students"
FinalScoreonRevisedEssay"
Control "
High Standards + Assurance "
Quality of Final Essay (15 pt. metric)

42. • Many
minority
students
encounter
or
are
aware
of
bias,
stereotypes
or
discrimina@on.
These
past
adversi@es
have
effects
in
part
because
they
leave
a
psychological
residue.
• Raising
classroom
rigor
may
not
close
achievement
gaps
if
they
don’t
address
iden@ty-­‐based
ambiguity.
“Wise”
strategies
can
disabuse
students
of
this
ambiguity
and
unlock
mo@va@on
• However,
these
depend
cri@cally
on
context:
– That
teachers
and
administrators
are
trustworthy
– That
students
are
being
taught
meaningful
and
rigorous
content
Take Home Message

43. VALUES-­‐AFFIRMATION
INTERVENTIONS
43
• Cohen, Garcia, Purdie-Vaughns, Apfel, & Brzustoski, 2009, Science;
• Cook, Purdie-Vaughns, Garcia, & Cohen, 2012, Journal of Personality and
• Social Psychology;
• Shnabel, Purdie-Vaughns, Cook, Garcia & Cohen, under revision, 2012, Personality
• and Social Psychology Bulletin;
• Purdie-Vaughns, Cohen, Garcia, Sumner, Cook, & Apfel, 2009, Teacher’s College Record
• Cohen, Purdie-Vaughns, & Garcia, 2012, Stereotype Threat: Theory, Process & Applications

44. Knowing
that
psychological
climates
can
impair
performance,
how
can
we
reduce
threat
so
students
can
achieve
in
the
face
of
these
climates?
Today’s
proposal:
Reduce
threat
by
affirming
students’
core
sense
of
self.
Reducing Stereotype Threat…

46. I
don’t
drink
as
much
sugary
stuff
as
the
person
simng
next
to
me...and
anyway,
I
walk
to
my
car
EVERY
day,
which
is
exercise…AND…the
researchers
who
study
diabetes
are
paid
by
medical
companies...who
can
trust
them??
Whew,
this
ad
does
not
apply
to
me!
“I
do
not
consume
sugary
drinks.
This
ad
does
not
apply
to
me.”

49. Here
we
protect
“the
self”
with
strategies
that
undermine
performance
(not
seeking
feedback,
disengagement).
Academic contexts are threatening for
students who belong to stereotyped groups.

50. self
affirma@on
• Self-­‐affirma@on
refers
to
thoughts
or
behaviors
that
bolster
one’s
sense
of
self
as
competent,
effec@ve,
and
able
to
control
important
outcomes
(Sherman
&
Cohen,
2006;
Steele,
1988)
• Self-­‐affirma@on
is
not
self-­‐esteem!
50
Values-affirmation reminds people of sources
of their self-worth.

51. The self-system
Global Self-Integrity
Roles
(e.g., student,
parent)
Values
(e.g., humor,
religion)
Group
identities
(e.g., race,
culture,
nation)
Central
beliefs
(e.g., ideology,
political beliefs)
Goals
(e.g., health,
academic
success)
Relationships
(e.g., family,
friends

52. STUDIES
1-­‐3
Do
values-­‐affirma@on
interven@ons
improve
academic
performance
for
students
under
threat?
52

53. • Structured
wri@ng
exercises,
integrated
into
middle-­‐school
classroom
in
7th
grade.
Developed
in
conjunc@on
with
teachers
and
administrators
at
school
site.
• Controlled
and
scripted
procedures
developed
with
help
of
teachers
and
administrators
at
each
specific
site.
• Administered
at
periods
of
high
stress.
Only
treatment
delivered
6
weeks
a1er
start
of
middle
school.
• Double-­‐blind
randomized
field
experiments.
Operationalizing values-affirmation

54. [Affirmation Condition Worksheet:]
WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL VALUES?
The most important values to me are: (circle two or three)
Athletic Ability
Being Good at Art
Creativity
Independence
Living in the Moment
Membership in A Social Group
(such as your community, racial group, or school club)
Music
Politics
Relationships with Friends or Family
Religious Values
Sense of Humor

55. [Art] is important to me because it makes me
feel calm. When I'm very upset, like I'm going
to cry I sit down and start listening to music or
start drawing a picture.
If I didn't have creativity, I'd be bored out of
my mind.
If I didn't have my family, I [wouldn t] be
raised right and if I didn't have my friends I
would be a boring person. If I didn't have my
religion, I wouldn't know what to do, I would be
lost.”
Sample excerpts from 7th graders

56. End-of-term course grade
2
2.5
3
3.5
European
Americans
African
Americans
Control
Affirmation
Cohen, Garcia, Apfel, & Master, 2006, Science
Covariates in analysis of each racial
group: prior performance, teacher
End-of-quarter course grade
(Social Studies)

57. 2
2.5
3
3.5
European
Americans
African
Americans
Control
Affirmation
End-of-quarter course grade
(Social Studies)
Cohen, Garcia, Apfel, & Master, 2006, Science
Covariates in analysis of each racial
group: prior performance, teacher

58. 2
2.5
3
3.5
European Americans African Americans
Control
Affirmation
Cohen, Garcia, Apfel, & Master, 2006, Science
Covariates in analysis of each racial
group: prior performance, teacher
End-of-quarter course grade
(Social Studies)

59. Original
Two
Studies:
2
2.5
3
3.5
European
Americans
African Americans
Control
Affirmation
2
2.5
3
3.5
European
Americans
African
Americans
Control
Treatment
2
2.5
3
3.5
European
Americans
African Americans
Control
Affirmation
Two Replication Studies in Math:
2
2.5
3
3.5
EuropeanAmericans AfricanAmericans
Control
Treatment

60. Original
Two
Studies:
2
2.5
3
3.5
European
Americans
African Americans
Control
Affirmation
2
2.5
3
3.5
European
Americans
African
Americans
Control
Treatment
2
2.5
3
3.5
European
Americans
African Americans
Control
Affirmation
Two Replication Studies in Math:
2
2.5
3
3.5
European
Americans
African Americans
Control
Treatment

62. 0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
% going up in
course difficulty
% going down in
course difficulty
White,
Control
White,
Affirm
Minority,
Control
Minority,
Affirm
Intervention affects contact with academic gateway:
Percentage of students moving up versus down in
math level from year 1 to year 2

63. 0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
% going up in
course difficulty
% going down in
course difficulty
White,
Control
White,
Affirm
Minority,
Control
Minority,
Affirm
Intervention affects contact with academic gateway:
Percentage of students moving up versus down in
math level from year 1 to year 2

64. 0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
% going up in
course difficulty
% going down in
course difficulty
White,
Control
White,
Affirm
Minority,
Control
Minority,
Affirm
Intervention affects contact with academic gateway:
Percentage of students moving up versus down in
math level from year 1 to year 2

65. Sherman & Hartson, 2011
Replication with Latino American students:
Global GPA over year

66. 1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Q1
Q2
(es@mate)
Q3
Q4
(es@mate)
Grade
Point
Average
Time
point
White
-­‐
Affirma@on
White
-­‐
Control
La@no
-­‐
Affirma@on
La@no
-­‐
Control
Sherman & Hartson, 2011
Replication with Latino American students:
Global GPA over year

67. • Value-­‐affirma@ons
work
by
securing
self-­‐concept
under
chronic
condi@ons
of
stereotype
threat,
like
middle
school,
high
school
and
college.
Take Home Message

69. SYMBOLIC
ROLE
MODEL
INTERVENTION
CAN
REDUCE
THREAT
AND
IMPROVE
PERFORMANCE:
THE
“OBAMA”
EFFECT
69
• Purdie-Vaughns, Cook, Cohen & Garcia, under review, Personality
• and Social Psychology Bulletin;
• Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2012; reviewed in ”Post-Racial America?”
• Eibach & Purdie-Vaughns, 2010; Dubois Review

70. Did
the
elec@on
of
Obama
alter
the
psychological
climate
for
minority
students.
If
so,
can
experimental
reminders
of
Obama
reduce
threat
and
improve
performance?
Reducing Stereotype Threat…

72. Obama Effect Field Experiment
• 158
par@cipants
in
6th
grade
• Middle
school
research
site
in
northern
United
States
(CT).
School
district
is
economically
middle
class
(~25%
receiving
free
or
reduced
school
lunch)
• Student
body:
49%
African
American/
9%
La@no
American,
42%
European
American
Purdie-Vaughns, Cook, Garcia & Cohen, in prep

73. Obama Effect Field Experiment
• Experiment
conducted
one
week
a1er
November
2008
elec@on.
• Two
experimental
condi@ons
– Obama
salient
condi@on:
Students
answered
12
ques@ons
about
the
importance
of
the
elec@on
and
Obama
– Control
condi@on:
Students
answered
12
ques@ons
about
the
importance
of
items
they
put
in
their
locker

74. Obama Salient Condition
(12 total questions. Sample questions)
• “Is
it
important
to
you
who
won
the
United
States
presiden+al
elec+on?
If
so,
why?”
• Who
won
this
year’s
United
States
presiden+al
elec+on?
(John
McCain,
Barack
Obama,
Hillary
Clinton
etc)
• I
am
happy
with
who
won
the
United
States
presiden+al
elec+on.
(1=not
at
all
happy,
4
=
very
happy)
• I
care
about
who
won
the
United
States
presiden+al
elec+on
(1=not
at
all,
4
=
very
much)

75. Dependent measures
• Social
iden@ty
threat
(Cohen
&
Garcia,
2006)
e.g.,
“In
school,
I
worry
that
people
will
think
I
am
dumb
if
I
do
badly”
“Some+mes
in
school,
other
people
think
bad
thoughts
about
how
smart
my
racial
group
is”
(1-­‐strongly
disagree
to
6-­‐strongly
agree)
(10
items:
alpha
=
.87)
• Grade
point
average
Official
school
records
in
2nd
quarter
of
school
year
Math,
English,
Social
Studies,
Science
(7
weeks
post
experiment)

76. School
Year
(by
quarter)
Quarter
1
Sept.-­‐Oct.
2008
Quarter
2
Nov.-­‐January
2008
Quarter
3
Feb.-­‐April
2009
Quarter
4
April-­‐June
2009
Summer
Quarter
1
Sept.-­‐Oct.
2009
Social
iden@ty
threat
and
grades
Time
1
6th
Grade
THREAT
Time
1
Quarter
2
GRADES
TIME
2
6th
Grade
THREAT
TIME
3
7th
Grade
THREAT
Exp.
Manip
.

77. Students’ attitudes about election and
awareness of election

78. 2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
Respect
for
Obama
Following
elec@on
(school/
home)
*Care
about
poli@cs
*Na@onal
Iden@fica@on
Black
White
* *
ns
ns
6th grade students’ attitudes towards Obama and
awareness of politics as a function of race.
* = significant racial group difference (p < .05).
Means adjusted for gender. Scale ranges from 1 to 4.

79. Excerpts from Obama condition
Yes, it is because it will show racist stereotypers
that Blacks aren't dumb but smart.”
-­‐Black
student,
6th
grade
“Yes, Barack Obama has great ideas and can help
our world.”
-­‐White
student,
6th
grade
“It's important to me because Barack Obama's win
meant that we can do anything no matter what
race we are.”
-­‐Black
student,
6th
grade

80. Iden@ty
Threat

81. Obama
interven@on
reduces
threat
among
black
6th
grade
students
un@l
start
of
7th
grade.
1.70
1.90
2.10
2.30
2.50
2.70
2.90
Fall 2008 Spring 2009 Fall 2009
Threat
White/Control Condition White/Obama Condition
Black/Control Condition Black/Obama Condition
-
+
*

82. 2.6
2.65
2.7
2.75
2.8
2.85
2.9
GPAQ2
with
Q1
Obama
Control
Obama intervention significantly improves 2nd quarter
grades for Black and White 6th grade students, 7 weeks
post intervention.
B
C+
(Math, English, Social Studies, Science)
Analysis controls for 1st quarter grades

83.
• Among
African
Americans,
a
group
that
contends
with
nega@ve
intellectual
stereotypes,
reflec@ng
about
President
Obama
had
same
protec@ve
effects
as
reflec@ng
about
the
self.
European
Americans,
a
group
not
stereotyped
in
this
context,
were
unaffected.
Summary of results

84. THE
SCIENCE
OF
BROADENING
PARTICIPATION
84
Broadening participation in STEM and beyond
requires altering the psychological climate to reduce
this stress.

85.
Ø Importance
of
social
psychological
approach
to
STEM
mo@va@on
and
achievement
Ø Three
social
psychological
interven@ons
help
li1
achievement
and
promote
equality
in
the
classroom
Ø Combining
social-­‐psychological
interven@ons
with
pedagogical
and
curricular
interven@ons
may
yield
greater
benefits
Ø Understanding
the
effects
of
iden@ty
threat
help
explain
when
and
why
people
from
“all
walks
of
life”
perform
below
their
poten@al
Concluding Remarks

86. Thank
you.
Valerie
Purdie-­‐Vaughns
vpvaughns@psych.columbia.edu
hdp://www.columbia.edu/cu/
psychology/vpvaughns/people.html

87. Research
Team,
Collaborators,
and
Funders
Acknowledgments
Teachers,
administrators,
and
students
at
our
school
sites
Faculty
and
student
collaborators
Julio
Garcia;
Geoffrey
C.
Cohen
Greg
Walton;
Jonathan
Cook
Claude
Steele;
Lee
Ross
Chris@ne
Logel;
David
Yeager
Research
Project
Team
Nancy
Apfel
Suzanne
Taborsky-­‐Barba
Nick
Camp
Jus@n
Busch
Pam
Brzustoski
Allison
Master
Courtney
Bearns
Natalie
Golaszewski
Sarah
Tomassem
Sarah
Wert
Marie
Scully
Research Consultants
Edward Zigler
Donald Green
Edmund Gordon
Joseph Mahoney
Funding Sources
National Science Foundation
Spencer Foundation
W.T. Grant Foundation
American Psychological Association
Institute for Social and Policy Studies
National Institute of Mental Health
Nellie Mae Education Foundation
School of Arts & Sciences, Yale University
Society for the Psychol. Study of Social Issues

88. Cogni@ve
and
Neural
mechanisms
Threat
Response
Biological
Marker
Behavioral
Outcome
References
Physiological
Arousal
-­‐
Skin
conductance
response
(SCR)
-­‐
Cardiac
reac@vity
-­‐
Poor
performance
on
hard
tests
-­‐
Beder
per.
easy
test
Blascovich,
Spencer,
Quinn,
&
Steele,
2001;
Cassady
&
Johnson,
2001
Neurobiological
(HPA-­‐axis)
Cor@sol
(hormone
mobilizes
energy
in
response
to
stress)
-­‐ Impairs
working
memory
-­‐
Increased
anxiety
(Dickerson,
Gable,
et
al.,
2009;
Dickerson,
et
al.2004;,
(
Beilock,
Rydell,
&
McConnell,
2007,
Schmader
&
Johns,
2003;
Schmader,
Johns,
&
Forbes,
2008
Neurobiological
(immune
system)
Proinflammatory
cytokines
(TNFα)
(mobilized
to
fight
against
biological
threats
)
Increased
immune
response
from
stress
(sickness
behavior
=
more
sleep,
preven@on
behaviors)
Schmader,
Johns,
&
Forbes,
2008
(theory)
Brain
ac@va@on
Failure
to
increase
ac@.
of
inf.
prefrontal
cort.,
lex
inf.
parietal
cort.,
and
bilateral
angular
gyrus
but
increased
vent.
anterior
cingulated
cort.
-­‐
Low
recruitment
of
areas
associated
with
learning
-­‐ Over
recruit
areas
associated
with
self-­‐regula@on
of
emo@ons
Krendl,
Richeson,
Kelley,
&
Heatherton,
2008

89. Transforma@ve
public
figures,
historic
characters,
and
pioneers
that
are
symbols
of
special
achievement
widely
expected
to
inspire
others
(Eibach
&
Purdie-­‐Vaughns,
2011;
Purdie-­‐Vaughns,
Summner
&
Cohen,
2010).
Symbolic Firsts

90. My experiences at Princeton
have made me far more aware
of my Blackness than ever
before . . . no matter how liberal
and open-minded some of my
White professors and
classmates try to be toward me,
I sometimes feel like a visitor on
campus; as if I really don t
belong . . . It often seems as if,
to them, I will always be Black
first and a student second.
- Michelle Robinson
(1985)

91. Stereotype threat applies to a broad range
of identities.

92. Stereotype Threat
Other
research
on
stereotype
threat
(2,500+
studies):
-­‐
Women
and
math,
science,
logic
tests
-­‐
Older
women
and
driving
performance
-­‐
White
males
and
math
performance
-­‐
White
males
and
athle@c
performance
-­‐
Older
individuals
and
memory
performance
-­‐
Economically
disadvantaged
and
intelligence
tests
(France)
-­‐
Gay
males
and
play
behaviors
with
young
children
-­‐
Whites
and
conversa@ons
about
race
with
Black
conversa@on
partners
Situa@ons
that
trigger
stereotype
threat:
-­‐
Being
a
numerical
minority
-­‐
Reminders
of
nega@ve
stereotype
(affirma@ve
ac@on
dust
ups,
hate
crimes)
-­‐
Race/ethnicity
of
instructor

93. Obama intervention significantly improves 2nd quarter
grades for Black and White 6th grade students, 7 weeks
post intervention.
0.25
0.75
1.25
1.75
2.25
2.75
3.25
3.75
4.25
1.25
1.75
2.25
2.75
3.25
3.75
4.25
GPA
quarter
2
GPA
from
Quarter
1
of
6th
Grade
Control
Obama
Control
Obama

94. Grades
(Math, English, Social Studies, Science)
Analysis controls for 1st quarter grades