This experiment demonstrated stereotype threat effects
based on social class. University students
completed a task involving verbal problems as part of a
course exercise. Unbeknownst to the students,
information was also solicited that allowed
classification of students as low or high in
socioeconomic status (SES) based on their parents' occupation
and the level of financial assistance being provided for
them to attend university. Prior to completing the
verbal problems, the task was described as designed to
"assess your intellectual ability for solving verbal
problems" (stereotype threat for low SES students) or to "test several hypotheses about the role
attention plays in the functioning of lexical memory"
(control). Low SES students solved fewer items than did high SES
students, but this occurred only in the condition in
which the task was described as assessing intellectual
ability. This study showed that stereotype threat
can occur based on expectations tied to social class and
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