Think Big: Counteracting Academic Stereotype Threat via Self-Affirmation and High Construal Level Thought

Abstract

Stereotype threat (stereotypes in the air) can undermine academic performance. This paper explores the effective convergence of self-affirmation and higher construal levels as interventions for women in math. Self-affirmation asks participants to reflect on their most highly valued attributes, principles, and strengths. The intervention operates through a higher, more abstract level of thought, as opposed to lower or more concrete. High construal levels omit extraneous detail, activate concepts more broadly, and streamline working memory for individuals under threat. Typically, self-affirming participants improve examination performance and lower stress levels, via mechanisms discussed in the body of this paper. The main hypothesis posited that when stereotype threat was salient, self-affirmation and abstract construal primes could protect academic performance. The overall hypothesis did not hold in this online sample of adult women (n=645): Self-affirmation did improve participants’ speed, but it did not improve their scores. The main predictor for score was educational attainment, and the main predictor for speed was age. Speed and score were moderately correlated. Still, for high-risk secondary-school students—those under extreme stress and immersed in high-stakes testing—affirming personal values and thinking abstractly may still converge to benefit performance. A final section describes race-based stereotype threat. Further research could help the education of women and minorities in the long-term.

Keywords: self-affirmation, stereotype threat, distraction, stress, construal level, abstraction