Stereotype threat and Black women's math performance: Do racial identity and experimenter race matter?

In this study, I examined the effect of stereotype threat on the math task performance among Black undergraduate women (N = 103). Similar to Davis et al. (2006), I explored if racial identity beliefs moderated test performance in the face of stereotype threat. Although there is growing research on stereotype threat, few stereotype threat studies have (a) included racial identity as a moderator of test performance or (b) studied the math performance of Black women with stereotype threat (Wright-Adams, 2014). The purpose of this study was to extend Davis et al.’s (2006) and Wright-Adams’ (2014) research by exploring the race of the experimenters (i.e., White or Black woman) on the relationship between stereotype threat and math performance. Among Black women college students, findings from analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) revealed no significant effect of stereotype threat on math performance. Lastly, racial identity did not significantly moderate the association between stereotype threat and math task performance. However ACT math scores were positively and significantly linked to performance on the math task. Implications of findings are discussed