Klein, Pohl, & Ndagijimana, 2007
This
experiment focused on stereotype threat amongst
residents of Belgium with sub-Saharan African origins in
the context of a job interview setting. African adults
who had lived in Belgium at least 5 years were recruited
to complete a relatively culturally-unbiased test
commonly used in job selection. The description of the
test provided by an African experimenter was varied
between conditions. Individuals were told that "compared
to Belgians, very few Africans have performed well on
it" (stereotype threat), that "the number of Africans
who have performed well on this test exceeds the number
of Belgians" (stereotype lift), or that "there are as
many Africans as Belgians who have performed well on
this test" (no difference). In a separate condition, no
group differences in performance were mentioned
(control). Performance was poorest in the stereotype
threat condition, and individuals in this condition were
more likely to agree with items asking whether they had
been given too little time or information, that they
were tired or distracted, or that the test was not
appropriate given their nationality. Stereotype threat
thus produced
self-handicapping and disparagement of the test
instrument. These results reveal negative effects of
stereotype threat in an understudied population using an
instrument commonly used in job selection in Belgium.
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