This study
examined the impact of subtle versus blatant
presentation of stereotype threat cues. Subtle and
blatant cues were hypothesized to affect performance for
different reasons and to emerge on different measures.
Subtle cues might cause individuals under stereotype
threat to focus resources on reducing uncertainty about
bias. To the degree that this causes attention to be
directed away from the task, performance on skills
requiring concentration and accuracy should be harmed.
Blatant cues, in contrast, do not require uncertainty
reduction since bias is clearly present in the
environment. Performance can still be negatively
affected, however, if individuals utilize strategies
that disrupt proper skill execution in an attempt to
avoid mistakes that might confirm a stereotype. If so,
the impact of subtle versus blatant threat might be
revealed on different measures. To test these ideas,
female undergraduates who were novel golfers were
greeted by a male or female experimenter (subtle
stereotype activation) who instructed them that they
would complete a task based on golf. Following this, one
third of the students were told that the test identifies
"psychological factors correlated with general sports
performance" (control condition). The other students
were told that the task measured "personal factors
correlated with natural athletic ability" and half were
additionally told "there are gender differences in
sports performance" (blatant gender) and half were told
"there are racial differences in sports performance"
(blatant race). All students then completed a golf
putting task in which the aim was to hit a golf ball
into the smallest of three holes on an inclined surface
in as few strokes as possible. In terms of the number of
strokes needed to complete the putting task, students
performed worse only when gender stereotypes were
blatantly invoked. Analysis of accuracy on the task, as
defined by the hole in which they succeeded in hitting
the ball, showed only an effect of subtle stereotype
activation; women were less accurate with a male
compared with a female experimenter. These data suggest
that blatant stereotype threat, even if the source is an
ingroup member, can induce a focus on avoiding mistakes,
and this focus tends to interrupt the fluid processes
that assist performance. Subtle cues, in contrast, are
believed to primarily create distractions that impose a
cognitive load, minimizing the availability of working
memory resources that are needed to concentrate on tasks
requiring accuracy. These results suggest that both
blatant and subtle forms of stereotype threat can affect
performance, but they appear to do so for different
reasons and through different mechanisms.
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