Name: how stereotypes shape behavior
Uploaded: 2020-02-12T11:07:45.000Z
Duration: 2 min 9 s
Channel: JoVE

When someone learns of a negative stereotype affecting a group to which they belong&mdash;like being a woman&mdash;they can feel threatened and act in a way they normally wouldn&rsquo;t, paradoxically supporting a feedback loop.

For example, at breakfast a father notes his daughter is studying for a calculus exam. He tells her not to worry if she fails, reminding her of the stereotype that men are naturally better mathematicians than women.

Upon arriving at class, the girl fears that if she receives a bad grade, she&rsquo;ll be viewed by her teacher and peers under the &ldquo;women are bad at math&rdquo; stereotype. This phenomenon is called stereotype threat&mdash;a risk that occurs when an individual worries their actions will provide evidence supporting a negative assumption about a particular social group.

She begins the test, and is initially determined to excel and disprove her father. However, as time passes, she feels more anxious and starts to believe that she can&rsquo;t solve the problems given her sex.

Most of her energy is spent trying to reassure herself, which impairs her memory, making it difficult to concentrate on the equations. She becomes dejected, and isn&rsquo;t motivated to complete the last questions.

This results in a self-fulfilling prophecy&mdash;an arbitrary belief or expectation about a future event that leads to behavioral changes which then fulfill the inaccurate projection.

In other words, the student fails&mdash;not because she&rsquo;s less intelligent than her male counterparts, but because her preoccupation with a misleading stereotype harmed her score.

Thus, feeling threatened by a negative label can lead to observable outcomes that reinforce the stereotype. In this case, when the girl&rsquo;s father asks to see her grade&mdash;which he predicted would be poor&mdash;he has direct evidence of the &ldquo;women are bad at math&rdquo; stereotype.

Fortunately, these effects can be lessened, for example by parents&mdash;like the girl&rsquo;s mother&mdash;denying the stereotype, and emphasizing that math exams haven&rsquo;t shown gender-based differences.

stereotype threat and self-fulfilling prophecies

Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies

When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs. Research by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) found that disadvantaged students whose teachers expected them to perform well had higher grades than disadvantaged students whose teachers expected them to do poorly.

Consider this example of cause and effect in a self-fulfilling prophecy: If an employer expects an openly gay male job applicant to be incompetent, the potential employer might treat the applicant negatively during the interview by engaging in less conversation, making little eye contact, and generally behaving coldly toward the applicant (Hebl, Foster, Mannix, &amp; Dovidio, 2002). In turn, the job applicant will perceive that the potential employer dislikes him, and he will respond by giving shorter responses to interview questions, making less eye contact, and generally disengaging from the interview. After the interview, the employer will reflect on the applicant&rsquo;s behavior, which seemed cold and distant, and the employer will conclude, based on the applicant&rsquo;s poor performance during the interview, that the applicant was in fact incompetent. Thus, the employer&rsquo;s stereotype&mdash;gay men are incompetent and do not make good employees&mdash;is reinforced. Do you think this job applicant is likely to be hired? Treating individuals according to stereotypic beliefs can lead to prejudice and discrimination.

Another dynamic that can reinforce stereotypes is confirmation bias. When interacting with the target of our prejudice, we tend to pay attention to information that is consistent with our stereotypic expectations and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. In this process, known as confirmation bias, we seek out information that supports our stereotypes and ignore information that is inconsistent with our stereotypes (Wason &amp; Johnson-Laird, 1972). In the job interview example, the employer may not have noticed that the job applicant was friendly and engaging, and that he provided competent responses to the interview questions in the beginning of the interview. Instead, the employer focused on the job applicant&rsquo;s performance in the later part of the interview, after the applicant changed his demeanor and behavior to match the interviewer&rsquo;s negative treatment.

Have you ever fallen prey to the self-fulfilling prophecy or confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias? How might we stop the cycle of the self-fulfilling prophecy? Social class stereotypes of individuals tend to arise when information about the individual is ambiguous. If information is unambiguous, stereotypes do not tend to arise (Baron et al., 1995).

This text is adapted from <a href="https://cnx.org/contents/Sr8Ev5Og@10.24:nhpI4cUs@13/12-5-Prejudice-and-Discrimination" target="_blank">OpenStax, Psychology. OpenStax CNX.</a>

When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation ...

stereotype-threat-and-self-fulfilling-prophecies

Education

JoVE Core

Social Psychology

Foundations of Social Psychology

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

how stereotypes shape behavior

Stereotypes can shape behavior through self-fulfilling prophecy and confirmation bias. A self-fulfilling prophecy happens when an expectation changes how someone acts, and that behavior helps make the expectation come true. When people hold stereotypes about others, they may treat them in ways that match those expectations. That treatment can then push the other person to act in the same way, which seems to confirm the stereotype.

A classic study by Rosenthal and Jacobson in 1968 showed this effect in schools. Disadvantaged students whose teachers expected them to do well earned higher grades than disadvantaged students whose teachers expected them to do poorly. The teacher’s belief helped shape student performance. This shows how expectations can influence outcomes in real life.

The same pattern can appear in a job interview. If an employer expects an openly gay male applicant to be incompetent, the employer may act coldly, speak less, and make little eye contact. The applicant may notice this treatment and respond with shorter answers, less eye contact, and less engagement. Afterward, the employer may judge the applicant as incompetent based on that poor interaction, which reinforces the stereotype and can make hiring less likely.

Confirmation bias can make this cycle stronger. Confirmation bias means paying attention to information that supports a stereotype and ignoring information that does not. In the interview example, the employer might overlook the applicant’s friendly and competent early answers and focus only on the later parts of the interview, after the applicant’s behavior changed. Social class stereotypes are more likely to form when information about a person is unclear. If the information is clear, stereotypes are less likely to arise.

How Stereotypes Shape Behavior

in- and out-groups

In-Group Bias and Scapegoating

In-group bias and scapegoating help explain how people react to groups they belong to and groups they see as different. An in-group is a group a person identifies with or feels part of. An out-group is a group a person does not belong to and sees as fundamentally different. People often use group membership as part of their identity and self-esteem. Gender, race, age, and social economic group can all serve as in-groups. For example, if a person is female, females are the in-group and males...

stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination

How Bias Shapes Social Group Behavior

Prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination are ways bias can shape how people think and act toward social groups. Social groups help form identity, and people can belong to many groups at once, including gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, social class, religion, sexual orientation, and profession. Differences can be hard for some people to accept, but education, contact, and relationships with other cultural groups can reduce prejudice. Even imagining a positive interaction with someone from...

stereotype content model

Warmth and Competence in Stereotypes

The Stereotype Content Model explains how people judge social groups using two main ideas: warmth and competence. Warmth means a group’s perceived intent, or whether it seems likely to help or cause harm. Competence means the group’s ability to carry out that intent. Susan Fiske and colleagues first proposed this model, and it helps show why first impressions can shape behavior toward other people. The model places stereotypes into four main categories. A group can be low in warmth and low in...

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Robbers Cave and Group Conflict

The Robbers Cave study shows how group conflict can grow when teams are forced to compete. In the 1950s, two boys’ groups at an Oklahoma summer camp, called the Rattlers and the Eagles, entered a week-long tournament. As the competition continued, their hostility grew into name-calling, fistfights, vandalism, and damage to property. The study also showed one way to reduce that tension. Researchers used superordinate goals, which are shared goals that groups can only reach by working together.

Stereotypes can shape behavior through self-fulfilling prophecy and confirmation bias. A self-fulfilling prophecy happens when an expectation changes how someone acts, and that behavior helps make the expectation come true. When people hold stereotypes about others, they may treat them in ways that match those expectations. That treatment can then push the other person to act in the same way, which seems to confirm the stereotype. A classic study by Rosenthal and Jacobson in 1968 showed this...

key terms and concepts

Explore how stereotypes can change behavior through self-fulfilling prophecy and confirmation bias, with school and job interview examples for grades 9–12.

How Stereotypes Shape Behavior | JoVE K12

JoVE Core Social Psychology offers a comprehensive learning experience on the principles of social behavior through concise, animated video lessons. The series explores key topics such as self-concept, social cognition, group dynamics, stereotypes, and relationships. It provides a structured foundation for understanding human behavior in social situations. Students gain insights into how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts while examining the psychological processes that influence interactions and judgments. By integrating theory with real-world applications, these lessons offer a clear and engaging approach to mastering essential concepts in social psychology.

How Stereotypes Shape Behavior

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