Research shows that when a gender stereotype is made salient and the target of the stereotype is asked to perform in the stereotyped domain, targets of the stereotype often perform at a lower level compared to situations when the stereotype was not made salient (Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999). Current models of stereotype threat show that increased physiological arousal and reduced working memory capacity partially explain this decrement in performance (Ben-Zeev, Fein, & Inzlicht, 2005; Schmader, Johns, & Forbes, 2008). Furthermore, the noticeable absence of female faculty and students in math and science departments at coed universities throughout the United States may increase the belief in gender stereotypes and discourage women from pursuing careers in these fields (Dasgupta & Asgari, 2004). Contact with counter-stereotypical exemplars, such as female science experts, decreases belief in gender stereotypes and increases women's motivation to pursue careers in science (Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, & McManus, 2011). Thus, the present study examined whether imagining an interpersonal interaction with a counter-stereotypic exemplar removes the physiological and performance effects of stereotype threat. However, the stereotype threat manipulation failed to elicit a strong stereotype threat effect on performance or physiology. Only reaction time and high frequency heart rate variability were sensitive to the stereotype threat induction. The imagination manipulation significantly attenuated the physiological effects of stereotype threat, whereas the reaction time effects were only marginally significant. Limitations and future directions for stereotype threat and imagined contact are discussed. / Ph. D.

Mature female students encounter a range of challenges, including stereotype threat, which may affect their persistence in academic programs. Research has been conducted on stereotype threat in adult learners, but little research has been done on the impact of stereotype threat on mature female students in higher education. The purpose of this qualitative study using the experience sampling method (ESM) was to investigate how role conflict and social isolation due to age differences affected the learning experiences of mature female students (ages 45-54). The study used a conceptual framework incorporating Steele and Aronson’s stereotype threat theory and the concept of perceived belonging. The research questions explored participants’ use of time and interactions with others to determine the extent to which they may have experienced role conflict and social isolation due to age differences. Using ESM in conjunction with interval-contingent diaries, the study collected data on 5 mature female students enrolled at a national, for-profit undergraduate institution 5 days per week for 4 weeks. Data were analyzed, codes and categories were developed, and themes were identified according to the research questions and diary prompts. Analysis of themes suggested that participants experienced role conflict, struggled with time management, and often felt overwhelmed and exhausted. The themes also indicated that participants interacted favorably with staff and professors but found themselves in conflict with classmates, often as a result of age differences. This study may lead to the development of interventions that can be used to address the unique, diverse needs of mature female students in higher education.

Cette thèse porte sur la menace du stéréotype (Steele & Aronson, 1995) qui correspond à la crainte qu’un individu, appartenant à un groupe négativement stéréotypé, peut ressentir lorsqu’il risque de confirmer, par sa performance ou son comportement, le stéréotype négatif associé à son groupe. Cette crainte, en retour, le mènerait involontairement à confirmer le stéréotype. Trois objectifs guident ce travail : (1) Nous proposons d’examiner le rôle de la perception de soi (i.e., en tant qu’individu unique ou en tant que membre du groupe) dans la modération (i.e., augmentation ou diminution) des effets négatifs de la menace du stéréotype sur les performances, l’état émotionnel et la perception de la situation. (2) Nous suggérons de tenir compte de la distinction récente entre la menace du stéréotype dirigée vers soi (i.e., peur de confirmer le stéréotype pour soi-même) et la menace du stéréotype dirigée vers le groupe (i.e., peur d’être un mauvais représentant de son groupe) et d’en examiner les impacts sur la performance des individus concernés (Shapiro & Neuberg, 2007 ; Wout, Jackson, Spencer, & Danso, 2008). Ces deux premiers objectifs ont fait l’objet de quatre études expérimentales portant sur les femmes et le stéréotype d’incompétence en mathématiques (présentées dans la Partie 1). Les principaux résultats indiquent que la perception de soi en tant que membre du groupe (i.e., soi interdépendant) a des effets plus délétères sur la performance et l’état émotionnel que la perception de soi en tant qu’individu unique (i.e., soi indépendant). Enfin, (3) notre dernier objectif était d’étendre les recherches sur la menace du stéréotype à un groupe stigmatisé encore non étudié dans le contexte français. Pour cela, nous avons choisi d’examiner le groupe des Noirs de France avec quatre études (présentées dans la Partie 2). Les principaux résultats révèlent l’existence de stéréotypes négatifs associés à ce groupe (e.g., incompétence intellectuelle) ainsi que leur impact non négligeable sur les membres de ce groupe (e.g., performances, comportements au quotidien). / This thesis is about stereotype threat effect (Steele & Aronson, 1995), which is definedas the fear one feels when one risks confirming the negative stereotypes associated with one’sgroup. This fear, in return, may lead one to involuntarily confirm the negative stereotypes byone’s behavior or performance. Three goals have guided this thesis work: (1) we propose toexamine self-construal’s moderator role (i.e., seing oneself as an individual or as a groupmember) on stereotype threat negative effects. (2) We suggest to take into account the recentdistinction between self stereotype-threat (i.e., the fear of confirming the negative stereotype foroneself) and group stereotype-threat (i.e., the fear of being a bad ambassador of one’s group;Shapiro & Neuberg, 2007 ; Wout, Jackson, Spencer, & Danso, 2008) and to examine theireffects on performance. These two objectives were examined in four experiments amongwomen and the stereotype of mathematics incompetence (results are presented in the first partof this manuscript). Main results show that interdependent self-construal activation has moredetrimental effects on performance and emotional state (i.e., anxiety) than independent selfconstrualactivation. The third (3) goal of this thesis is to extend stereotype threat effectsresearch to a stigmatized group which wasn’t studied yet in France. We chose Blacks of Franceand we run four studies among this group (results are presented in the second part of thismanuscript). Main results show that Blacks of France are associated with negative stereotypes(e.g., intellectual incompetence) which have negative effects among members of this group (e.g.,on performance, everyday behavior).

Even with the rise of racial diversity in the workplace, African American women remain underrepresented in upper management and organizational leadership positions, making up only 1% of U.S. corporate officers. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study was to explore the daily experiences of African American women middle managers in regard to stereotype threat and the effect of these experiences on their engagement with leadership aspirations. The narrative inquiry method was used to address this gap and answer the research question, through storytelling from African American women in middle-management positions. This study was framed by 2 key concepts that focus on minority group workplace experiences with stereotype threat and the implications of these experiences on minority group members for their engagement with leadership aspirations: Inzlicht and Kang’s concept of stereotype threat spillover and Major, Spencer, Schmader, Wolfe, and Crocker’s concept of psychological disengagement. The data-gathering process involved semistructured telephone interviews with 7 college-educated African American women, in U.S.-based organizations, in which participants told the story of their stereotype threat experiences in middle management roles. Two of the 5 key themes uncovered were impact of stereotype threat spillover and disengagement from leadership and career aspirations. The information gathered from the narrative study will help drive social change by bringing awareness to the issue and reducing threat experiences of disadvantaged groups across organizations.

While evidence suggests stereotype threat effects invade conscious levels of processing, less is known about the role that implicit processes play in stereotype threat. Results from four studies indicate that implicit attitudes and stereotypes play a unique role in motivation and performance in stereotype threatening contexts. Women trained to have positive implicit math attitudes exhibited increased math motivation in general (Study 1). This effect was magnified among stereotype threatened women when negative stereotypes had either been primed subtly (Study 2) or implicitly reinforced (Study 3). Implicit attitudes had no effect on working memory capacity or performance however. Conversely, after retraining women to associate their gender with being good at math, they exhibited increased working memory capacity (Studies 3 and 4) and increased math performance (Study 4) in stereotype threatening situations. The enhanced performance that resulted from the positive stereotype reinforcement was mediated by the increased working memory capacity. Thus while implicit attitudes appear important for motivating stigmatized individuals to engage with stigmatized domains, stereotypes play a key role in undermining cognitive capacity that is critical for success in the domain.

There is a lack of literature that has investigated the relationships between stereotype threat, impostor phenomenon, and other related constructs on career development, particularly for women in STEM. While various resources (National Science Foundation, 2013; Sax, Kanny, Jacobs, Whang, Weintraub, & Hroch, 2016; US Department of Labor, 2014) have highlighted the gender gap and “leaky pipeline” in STEM, it is important to further investigate and understand why these phenomena occur and continue to persist. In this study, I used a mixed methods approach which used a quantitative SEM analyses and qualitative interview to further examine the paths between chilly climate, impostor phenomenon, stereotype threat, science self-efficacy, fear of failure, fear of success, academic major satisfaction, and persistence in STEM in a sample of undergraduate females. Several hypotheses were formed in order to better understand the mediation effects of these variables upon one another. Stereotype threat was found to be endorsed at a lesser rate than anticipated, while impostor phenomenon was endorsed at a higher rate. Science self-efficacy was also found to play an important role in the predicted relationships among variables, relating to both academic major satisfaction and persistence. These quantitative results were supported by data gathered in qualitative interviews. Implications for research and practice around concerns of impostor phenomenon, stereotype threat, and fears of failure and success are discussed.

Stereotype threat is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when individuals become aware that their behavior could potentially confirm a negative stereotype. Though stereotype threat is a widely studied phenomenon in social psychology, there has been relatively little scholarship on it in philosophy, despite its relevance to issues such as implicit cognition, epistemic injustice, and diversity in philosophy. However, most psychological research on stereotype threat discusses the phenomenon by using an overly narrow picture of it, which focuses on one of its effects: the ability to hinder performance. As a result, almost all philosophical work on stereotype threat is solely focused on issues of performance too. Social psychologists know that stereotype threat has additional effects, such as negatively impacting individuals’ motivation, interests, long-term health, and even their sense of self, but these other effects are often downplayed, or even forgotten about. Therefore, the “standard picture” of stereotype threat needs to be expanded, in order to better understand the theoretical aspects of the phenomenon, and to develop broader, more effective interventions. This dissertation develops such an “expanded picture” of stereotype threat, which emphasizes how the phenomenon can negatively impact both self-identity and epistemic agency. In doing so, I explore the nature of stereotypes more generally and argue that they undermine groups’ moral status and contribute to what is called “ontic injustice.” I also show how stereotype threat harms members of socially subordinated groups by way of coercing their self-identity and undermining their epistemic agency, which I argue is a form of epistemic injustice. Lastly, I analyze the expanded picture’s implications for addressing the low proportion of women in professional philosophy. I critically engage recent arguments that these low numbers simply reflect different interests women have, which if innate or benign, would require no intervention. My expanded picture shows the mistakes in this sort of reasoning, which is also present in discussions on the underrepresentation of women in science. The expanded picture of stereotype threat that this dissertation develops is not only practically important, but also advances key philosophical debates in social epistemology, applied ethics, and social metaphysics.

This qualitative study examined Urban Black high school students’ pathways to academic success, with particular attention to their perspectives about achieving academic success despite stereotype threats and impeding social factors, the support systems they rely upon, and the coping mechanisms they employ when encountering challenges. Study data suggested that the way urban Black high school students achieved academic success despite stereotype threats and impeding social factors is to identify and focus on their goals, circumventing what obstacles they could and cognitively and emotionally coping with what they could not. Students primarily relied upon family members, community members, school staff, and college-bound programs as support mechanisms. In response to challenge, they employed coping mechanisms of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral strategies that enhanced their focus on the goal, reduced their stress, helped them avoid distraction, and promoted their achievement of the goal. These strategies indicated that the students possessed grit and a growth mindset. The relatively few instances of racism and stereotyping identified in this study indicate the need for more study conducted using different methods to reveal the more widespread and insidious instances of racism and stereotyping within school systems. Longitudinal research also may be helpful for revealing the challenges, racism, and stereotypes students experience as they happen, along with the sensemaking, coping strategies, and support mechanisms they employ to persist through to completion. Keywords: African American, Urban, high school students, racism, stereotype threat, success factors

The past two decades have seen a substantial increase in the availability of numerical data that individuals are faced with on a daily basis. In addition, research uncovering the multiple facets of statistical reasoning has become increasingly prominent. Both gender differences and the effect of experience or training have emerged as two key factors that influence performance in statistics. Surprisingly, though, the combined effects of these two variables have not been studied. This gap in understanding the joint effect of gender and experience on statistical reasoning is addressed in the present dissertation with six studies. In Study 1 (N = 201), participants with various levels of experience in statistics were asked to complete the Statistical Reasoning Assessment (SRA; Garfield, 2003). Although the performance of both genders improved with experience, the gender gap persisted across all experience levels. Multiple measures of individual differences were used in a confirmatory structural equation model. This model supported the idea that differences in statistical reasoning are not uniquely a matter of cognitive ability. In fact, gender was found to influence statistical reasoning directly, as well as indirectly through its influence on thinking dispositions. In Studies 2 (N = 67), 3 (N = 157), and 4 (N = 206), the role of stereotype threat was examined as a potential cause of the persisting gender gap in statistics, and value affirmation was tested as an intervention to overcome stereotype threat. Despite the fact that many women believed negative stereotypes about the ability of women in statistics, value affirmation had no significant impact on performance. To help explain this lack of effect, and in keeping with the results of the structural equation model suggesting a multi-pronged approach, efforts were turned towards a different (and potentially richer) cognitive factor. Specifically, mental representations were explored to help shed light on the root causes of those conceptual understanding differences in statistics. In Studies 5 and 6, gender differences in mental representations of statistical features were examined using a categorization paradigm. In Study 5 (N = 219), extending some of the key findings in Studies 1, 3 and 4, it was established that two courses in statistics are necessary to create a significant difference in the quality of mental representations of statistical concepts. More importantly, Study 6 (N = 208) demonstrated how constraining the task format particularly benefits women in that the quality of their reasoning significantly improved, where that of men was equal across tasks. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

As an accepted genre of female composition, song lies in a unique position among musical genres. This allows it to stand largely outside the area of Claude Steele’s notion of “stereotype threat,” and being absent such weighty pressures, it could then furnish an arena in which female composers can do their best work. As a genre that combines the arts of music and poetry, song is based upon a given set of symbols that provide the composer with inspiration. The study of these symbols and their possible metaphorical meanings can offer a guide to that inspiration. By studying two settings by male composers and two settings of female composers, we can compare their individual and gendered approach to those symbols for elements of a masculine or feminine style. Heinrich Heine’s 23rd poem in Die Heimkehr, analyzed thoroughly in Chapter 2, is the focal text in this study. In Chapters 3 through 6 each of the settings is examined at length using both a standard formal analysis and the “Grundgestalt” concept of Schoenberg. The settings examined are “Ihr Bild” by Franz Schubert, “Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen” and “Ihr Bildniss” (two versions of the same work) by Clara Schumann, “Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen” by Hugo Wolf, and a setting of the same name by Ingeborg von Bronsart. Each discussion focuses on the individual reactions to the specific symbols identified in Chapter 2, as well as the global approach to some well-known literary aspects of paternalistic literary culture of the time. The thesis concludes with a summary of the similarities and differences in the preceding four examinations. Chapter 7 also draws conclusions based on those contrasts, which yields an evaluation of gendered reactions and the possibility of a feminine style in the nineteenth century.