Article Performance and Inflammation Outcomes are Predicted by Different Facets of SES Under Stereotype Threat

We experimentally tested whether negative stereotypes linked to lower socioeconomic status (SES), in addition to impairing academic performance (Croizet & Claire, 1998), instigate inflammation processes that are implicated in numerous disease processes. In Study 1, verbal test performance and activation of inflammation processes (measured by levels of an inflammatory protein, Interleukin-6 [IL-6]) varied as a function of SES and test framing (i.e., diagnostic vs. nondiagnostic of intellectual ability), with low SES students underperforming and exhibiting greater IL-6 production in the ‘‘diagnostic’ ’ condition. In Study 2, students expected their verbal exam performance to be compared to peers of higher or lower SES. Low SES students in the upward com-parison condition displayed the greatest inflammatory response and worst test performance. Across both studies, different facets of SES predicted vulnerability to negative outcomes, such that low early life SES predicted heightened inflammation responses, while low current SES predicted impaired academic performance. Keywords health, social comparison, social neuroscience, socioeconomic status, stress and coping Individuals from lower socioeconomic status (SES) back-grounds face not only low rates of admission at 4-year univer-sities but also significant obstacles once enrolled in college