| The current study was designed to investigate whether stereotype threat influenced the mathematics performance of (N = 249) high school girls' and boys' performance on standardized mathematics tests. Stereotype threat is the fear of confirming a negative stereotype, and this has been found to decrease test scores in adults. A multi-method design was used, including both survey and experimental methods, to test whether stereotype threat patterns were present in students' Standard Achievement Test-Mathematics (SAT-M) scores. Self-report surveys were administered to assess age, mathematics identification, stereotype knowledge, gender identity, perceived math task difficulty, situational anxiety, and evaluation apprehension. A three-condition experimental task was also administered. Students took SAT-M sections under baseline, stereotype primed, and stereotype lifted conditions.; Hierarchical regressions and analysis of variance tests were conducted to test for the presence of stereotype threat effects and assess the factors that might moderate the relation between gender and stereotype threat. Results indicate that boys scored higher than girls on the SAT-M in all three test conditions. On average, stereotype threat effects were not found in this sample, and the proposed moderators were not found to influence the relation between gender and stereotype threat overall. However, some girls did show stereotype threat patterns. An increase in the percentage of girls experiencing stereotype threat occurred in the 17-year-old age group, followed by a decrease in the 18-year-old group. How these age-related trends may be related to the disidentification process is discussed. A curvilinear relation between stereotype threat level and mathematics class was found, with girls in the lowest and highest mathematics classes experiencing the highest levels of stereotype threat, and girls in the middle level classes experiencing the lowest levels of stereotype threat. An interpretation of these findings is presented based on students' differing mathematics abilities, mathematics identification, and differing paths of disidentification. Stereotype knowledge and mathematics identification were not related to stereotype threat experiences; however, gender identity was positively related to girls' stereotype threat levels. Evaluation apprehension, situational anxiety, and perceived mathematic difficulty were investigated as manipulation check variables. Unexpectedly, some boys' scores also reflected the traditional stereotype threat patterns. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research were discussed. |
