An examination of stereotype threat on women\u27s math performance: a meta-analysis

In 1995, Steele and Aronson coined the term stereotype threat. They defined it as the risk of confirming, as self characteristic, a negative stereotype about one\u27s group. This meta-analysis examined whether the empirical data supports the claim that stereotype threat has a detrimental effect on women\u27s performance on standardized math test and if so, what threat reducing strategies are effective. Of the studies retrieved, only 12 met the minimum criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Results revealed that overall stereotype threat had a detrimental effect on women\u27s test performance. Men performed better than women in stereotype threat testing conditions; however women\u27s scores were comparable to men\u27s scores in the non-threatening testing condition. When activating stereotype threat, subtle cues had a larger negative effect on performance than explicit cues. The results also showed that reminding women of their multiple social identities and exposing women to in-group role models had the largest positive effect on women\u27s performance on standardized math test when enduring stereotype threat