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'Stereotype threat' negatively affects students
Published: Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Princeton students fall victim to the “stereotype threat,” according to a study led by Adam Alter GS ’09.
The “stereotype threat” is the phenomenon in which reminding people of negative stereotypes associated with their group identity can encourage the fulfillment ...
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Some stereotypes are true. Tower kids suck
http://isteve.blogspot.com/2010/01/stereotype-t...
But now, it turns out that the vaunted evidence for this wildly popular concept rests heavily upon another Effect, the File Drawer Effect—defined as “the practice of researchers filing away studies with negative outcomes”. We seem to have another Climate Research Unit scandal on our hands.
A researcher, who doesn’t want his name or any potentially identifying information mentioned, for unfortunately obvious career reasons, recently attended a presentation at a scientific conference. Here is his summary of what he heard:
“One talk presented a meta-analysis of stereotype threat. The presenter was able to find a ton of unpublished studies. The overall conclusion is that stereotype threat does not exist. The unpublished and published studies were compared on many indices of quality, including sample size, and the only variable predicting publication was whether a significant effect of stereotype threat was found. …
“This is quite embarrassing for psychology as a science.”
In other words, if a study doesn’t find the existence of stereotype threat, it’s less likely to see the light of day. Positive results are more appealing to journal editors, and politically correct positive results are loveliest of all. In contrast, how much of a market is there for punching holes in society’s fondest hopes?
Note that “Stereotype Threat” mostly seems to exist in settings where test-takers, such as “elite university undergraduates,” are smart enough to pick up on researchers’ hints about what results they hope to publish. In the marketing research industry, it’s well known that survey respondents tend to respond with the answers that they surmise the pollster wants. Human beings like to be cooperative if it doesn’t cost them anything. Similarly, it’s likely not hard for black students at top research universities to gather that they can benefit their professor with a publishable paper just by working less diligently on the meaningless test he's given them.
Moreover, “Stereotype Threat” doesn’t seem to exist where the test is important enough to matter to the students.
AC, I'm definitely going to trust an anonymous study described on a blog called "iSteve."
i love dale shepherd!
Isteve is a racist blog by the racist eugenics fan named steve sailer. Jelte Wicherts is horrified to find his work touted and twisted in such a way.