Meta-Stereotype Threat Effect On Aggressive Behavior ——A Moderated Mediation Model

There are many stereotypes in our family,school and social environment,such as "girls are timid,boys are irritable","boys are poor in language,girls are poor in science".There is no doubt that stereotypes can save our cognitive resources and help us quickly understand a certain group.However,these widely spread stereotypes will deepen our prejudice and discrimination against this group.With the deepening of stereotype related research,researchers pay more and more attention to the field of meta-stereotype.The activation of negative meta-stereotype will threaten the individual’s selfimprovement,which will further damage the individual’s behavior.Through three experiments,this study examined the relationship between meta-stereotype threat and aggressive behavior and the mechanism of negative emotion,and further explored the role of belief in a just world（BJW）.In Study 1,the subjects were divided into meta-stereotype threat group and control group through different manipulation methods.The adapted hot sauce paradigm was used to investigate whether there were differences in aggressive behavior between the two groups.The results showed that participants in the threat group had significantly more aggressive behaviors than the control group.Study 2 further explored whether this aggressive behavior was different towards different groups and its mechanism,using 2（subjects’ gender: female,male）× 2（metastereotype: threat group,control group）× 2（aggression target: female,male）three factors mixed design.The results showed that compared with the control group,male and female subjects in meta-stereotype threat group were more inclined to make aggressive behavior towards external group members.Negative emotion played a mediating role between meta-stereotype threat and aggressive behavior towards external group.Study 3 primed different levels of BJW by reading,and explored the role of BJW in the impact of meta-stereotype threat on aggressive behavior.Used 2（BJW: high,low）×2（gender: female,male）× 2（meta-stereotype: threat group,control group）×2（target:female and male）four factors mixed design.The results not only further confirmed the mediating role of negative emotions,but also found that BJW moderated the direct path of meta-stereotype threat and aggressive behavior towards external group and the first half of the mediating role of male negative emotions.Specifically,compared with the low BJW,the high BJW effectively reduced aggressive behavior and male group’s negative emotions in meta-stereotype threat group.In general,the following conclusions were obtained through three studies:（1）Meta-stereotype threat made individuals more aggressive behavior.（2）Compared with the control group,the subjects in the meta-stereotype threat group were more inclined to make aggressive behavior towards the external group.（3）Negative emotion played a mediating role between meta-stereotype threat and aggressive behavior.（4）BJW moderated the direct path between meta-stereotype threat and aggressive behavior,and the path from meta-stereotype threat to negative emotion in the male group.