The Influence Of A Negative In-group Stereotype On State Self-esteem

A stereotype is a socially shared set of beliefs about traits that are characteristic of members of a social category. Stereotype includes positive features and negative features. Meanwhile self-stereotype is selective, that is, individuals tend to be positive stereotype associated with their own characteristics, and the negative stereotypes associated with groups of general characteristics. Self-esteem is the individual’s own attitude held by evaluation normally. When individuals faced with failure, they would take a variety of strategies to repair self-esteem. The purpose of this study is to investigate that whether individuals will agree with the negative in-group stereotype as a strategy to protect the damaged state self-esteem when they faced with failure feedback.Yu and Xie (2008) found that endorsing desirable feminine traits was positively associated with self-esteem while endorsing undesirable feminine traits was negatively associated with self-esteem in a Chinese student sample. Oswald and Chapleau (2010) argued that self-stereotyping for positive traits could allow a person to maintain a positive self-image; however, self-stereotyping for negative stereotypes is potentially problematic for maintaining a positive self-image. Josephs, Markus, and Tafarodi (1992) demonstrated that failing to perform well on gender-appropriate tasks engendered a defensive, compensatory reaction, but only in subjects with high self-esteem. These studies show that the stereotype and self-esteem are related. When individuals were exposed to a negative stereotype about themselves, they will take protective strategies to repair their damaged self-esteem.The study designed three experiments to explore.the influence of a negative in-group stereotype on state self-esteem:Experiment1examines after a math failure, whether women tend to associate the negative stereotype with general characteristics of group. The experiment uses single-factor between-subject design——negative stereotype vs no stereotype. And the results showed that:women’s self-esteem was buffered from a math failure if they were presented with negative stereotypes regarding their gender’s poor math abilities.Experiment2examines whether women (and not men) will increase their endorsement of in-group negative stereotype following a math failure as a way to protect state self-esteem. The experiment uses two factors between-subject design——gender (male vs female) X condition (strategic vs non-strategic). And the results showed that:(1) failure on the math test increased women’s tendency to endorse the view that women are bad at math, and (2) women’s self-esteem were buffered from a math failure if they were given an opportunity to endorse the relevant in-group stereotype; but men didn’t show the same tendency.Experiment3examines the tendency to embrace the negative stereotype following a math failure will be most pronounced among women with high rather than low trait self-esteem. The experiment uses two factors between-subject design——trait-esteem (high vs low) X condition (strategic vs non-strategic). And the results showed that:(1) women with high trait self-esteem were more likely to agree with negative gender stereotypes following a math failure, and (2) women with high trait self-esteem after the math test failing will show higher levels of state self-esteem.Summarized the above three experiments, the following conclusions:(1) women were more likely to contact negative stereotypes with in-group’s features following a math failure, and (2) women with high trait self-esteem were more likely to agree with negative gender stereotypes following a math failure to protect state self-esteem.This study has important significance. The traditional studies suggest that endorsement of in-group negative stereotype will decrease individuals’self-esteem, however, this study found that after a failure feedback, individuals would endorse the in-group negative stereotype to attribute their failures and lack of capacity to their respective groups, so as to protect self-esteem. The study provides a new perspective on the negative in-group stereotype an active role, discovered the properties of self-protection.