Stereotype threat effects on Black and White athletic performance.
Two experiments showed that framing an athletic task as diagnostic of negative racial stereotypes about Black or White athletes can impede their performance in sports. In Experiment 1, Black participants performed significantly worse than did control participants when performance on a golf task was framed as diagnostic of "sports intelligence. " In comparison, White participants performed worse than did control participants when the golf task was framed as diagnostic of "natural athletic ability. " Experi-ment 2 observed the effect of stereotype threat on the athletic performance of White participants for whom performance in sports represented a significant measure of their self-worth. The implications of the findings for the theory of stereotype threat (C. M. Steele, 1997) and for participation in sports are discussed. Since no one can be indifferent to the abuse and expectations of others we must anticipate that ego defensiveness will frequently be found among members of groups that are set off for ridicule, disparagement, and discrimination. It could not be otherwise. (Allport, 1954, p. 143) Gordon Allport (1954) observed that being the target of a negative stereotype about an important social identity is distressing