Stereotype Threat Essay

Words: 1781
Pages: 8
Open Document
How Does Stereotype Threat Affect the Achievement Gap with Latino Students? The achievement gap is the difference of academic performance between underrepresented students and their white peers. Reasons to why the gap exists tens from the social psychological pressures of vein a minority student with the pressure of succeeding some stressors include English language development, poverty, immigration status, class size, etc. Along with being a member of a minority group, stress and expectations can threaten students ability to perform highly (Sherman et al., 2013). Stereotype threat occurs when “the possibility exists that a valued social aspect of one’s identity could be devalued in a given setting” (Sherman et. al, 2013, p. 592). Identity …show more content…
Most research has been investigated between African American students compared to European American students. Through these studies, it has been shown that when a student of color has a high risk of threat in a classroom the students anxiety reacts to the environment (e.g. body temperature and blood pressure rises). Specifically, threats in the environment affect exams of students of color and increase stress and anxiety when taking a test. Because stereotype threat usually occurs in a setting where a student feels threatened, threat is more of a situational condition. Students of color can experience stereotype threat in a classroom, when compared to wWhite/Asian peers, but women can also experience threat if told that their math performance was going to be measured in comparison to their white male counterparts. Rodriguez (2014) points that “the academic performance of Hispanic students is hindered by the presence of negative racial stereotypes much in the same way that African American students’ performance suffers in the presence of negative racial stereotypes” (p. 195). In 2003, Schander and Johns investigated the negative stereotypes of Hispanic and White participants and the impact on their working memory. Researchers framed their working memory with a “genera; intelligence” exam. Hispanics that were placed in a high threat environment had “evidence of reduced working memory capacity compared with white
Show More

Related Documents: Stereotype Threat Essay

Just Walk On By Brent Staples Summary

experience with racial profiling and counter acts by expressing how the stereotypes do not relate to every black person. This essay is well written and includes good examples that correlates with the topic of stereotypes of the African-American males such as, them being characterized as “dangerous” or “young thug”. Staples’s examples helped set the mood and the tone of how it felt to be an African-American male. Being seen as a threat makes Staples feel embarrassed and dismayed. The example of him walking…

Words 264 - Pages 2

African American Racial Identity Analysis

This essay examines the question, “What is the effect of an African American student’s racial identity on their academic achievement”. The essay begins by addressing Henri Tajfel‘s social identity theory, which addresses the in-group norms of African Americans as successes in areas other than academics due to the presence of the media and negative stereotype threat. Additionally, the essay addresses the conformity to in-group norms by African American students, due to the social categorization created…

Words 226 - Pages 1

Essay on Helping and Hating the Homeless

felt like those around them were judging them, which made them embarrassed of their situation. They also expressed that they try to look at the positives of where they are and where they are going. Throughout their answers they discuss how the stereotypes impact they way they perceive themselves and those around them, one participant said: For a lot of us, it is just that we are here. You can beat me over the head all you want; I have to figure this out myself, and thank you for offering. [Nonetheless]…

Words 2608 - Pages 11

Essay On Implicit Stereotypes

Implicit stereotypes refer to when you unconsciously attribute specific qualities to a member of a certain social group. They depend on your experience, and are based on associations you have learned. Stereotypes usually refer to categories including race, gender or age. The study of implicit stereotypes first started around the late 20th century. The possibility that stereotypes influenced people’s social interactions without them being aware had explosive implications. Implicit stereotypes can affect…

Words 1580 - Pages 7

ESSAY Diversity And Tolerance A Brighter

ESSAY: Diversity and Tolerance – A Brighter Future Oct. 4, 2006 – As she wrote this essay, a 17-year-old student from India learned about her own ‘deep-rooted prejudices and intolerance. ‘She’s applying her message to her own life and hopes to inspire others. By Anupreet Kaur Can you eat the same bread and butter everyday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Or can you wear a single color throughout your life? No, because we all crave variety or diversity. The diversity of multicolored flowers in a…

Words 743 - Pages 3

Perspective: Black People and Brent Staples Essay

attempt to show the harmful consequences of assumptions based on race, appearance, education, and stereotypes based on gender. Each essay gives readers the different perspectives, based on the authors’ experience with assumptions. Brent Staples’ “Just Walk on By”, informs women, that men should not be judged based on appearance, stereotypes, gender and race. He contents women see black men as a threat, lacking education and belonging to a lower socioeconomic group. Staples states, “She cast back…

Words 1689 - Pages 7

Racial Stereotyping

“Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass, I have noticed each author had a deeper theme. In each essay the author is placed in a racial stereotypical situation and in order to solve their problem they found a peaceful solution. The authors feel immense emotions such as rage or in Douglass’s case agony, but they each learn to move on from it. Even though some of the authors may also stereotype others they do not cause any conflict from it. Each author…

Words 1884 - Pages 8

Stereotype: From Lavater To The War On Terror

SPEIRS Andrew The Individual and the Stereotype: From Lavater to the War on Terror Abstract This paper examines the technologies of surveillance and biometrics and the resultant slippage between the individual, the type and the stereotype. The stereotype emerges from between the general and the individual as a coherent, simplified, easily readable idea. There have been many attempts to find a particular characteristic that is unique to an individual that enables absolute identification.…

Words 4202 - Pages 17

Racism Essay

Austin Kim 3/6/13 Professor Ferrell Essay 3.1 Writing 121 Racism Changes Lives Racism is defined as views, practices, and actions reflecting the belief that human beings are divided into certain categories known as races and that these members share common attributes amongst one another. This definition causes a specific group or race to be less desirable, more desirable, inferior, or superior. The segregation between ethnicities have stirred many debates, battles, and controversy. Another…

Words 1644 - Pages 7

Just Walk On By Brent Staples Analysis

is dangerous, or a threat likely to cause pain. In the essay “Just Walk on by” by Brent Staples, an African American man who grew up in Chester Pennsylvania, a small town in the 1960s. Staples explains that at such a young age, he learned to distinguish right from wrong because in his community there were gang warfares, street knifings, and murders. Staples remained a shadow in his community, his shyness making him grow up as one of the good boys. Due to society's stereotypes, Staples has always…

Words 1051 - Pages 5