| Does the experience of stereotype threat (ST) truly not depend on people's endorsement of stereotypes? We investigated whether women's explicit and implicit stereotypes concerning women's incompetence at work moderate their experience of ST. We hypothesized that ST effects would occur only among women with stronger explicit or implicit stereotypes. Women's explicit stereotypes were assessed in mass-testing. Later, 120 women completed a math test described, in the control condition as a non-diagnostic exercise, and in the ST condition as a diagnostic test for which gender differences were being explored. Approximately one week later, women's implicit stereotypes were assessed. A significant Condition X Explicit Stereotypes X Implicit Stereotypes interaction was found. Post hoc analyses also revealed that effort mediated the relation between the three-way interaction and performance. The conceptual meaning of these results was explored. This research shows that women's explicit and implicit beliefs do in fact moderate their experience of ST. |
