Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

The Nature of Intelligence311• When reminded of their racial identity, white males did worseon a math test when they thought they were competing withAsian males (Aronson & others, 1999). And, when reminded oftheir gender identity, men performed worse than women on atest that was described as measuring “social sensitivity,” butnot when the test was described as measuring “complex informationprocessing” (Koenig & Eagly, 2005).• When tests were described as measuring intelligence, Hispanicstudents performed more poorly than white students(Gonzales & others, 2002); children from a low socioeconomicbackground performed more poorly than studentsfrom higher socioeconomic backgrounds (Croizet & Claire,1998); and social science majors scored lower than naturalscience majors (Croizet & others, 2004).• When reminded of the stereotype of the “elderly as forgetful,”older adults scored lower on a memory test than a matchedgroup not given that reminder. Conversely, when reminded ofthe “elderly as wise” stereotype, senior adults scored higher onthe same test than those who were not reminded of that positivestereotype (Levy, 1996).• Women who were reminded of the stereotype that femalesare bad drivers were more than twice as likely to run overpedestrians than women who were not reminded of thestereotype (Yeung & Von Hippel, 2008). (Note from your authors:No actual pedestrians were harmed in this study,which was conducted in a driving simulator, not a real car.)How does being reminded of a negative stereotype underminea person’s performance? First, there’s the fear that youmight confirm the stereotype, which creates psychological stress,"Stereotype threat is a situationalthreat—a threat in the air—that,in general form, can affect themembers of any group aboutwhom a negative stereotype exists,whether it's skateboarders, olderadults, white men, or gang members.Where bad stereotypes about thesegroups apply, members of thesegroups can fear being reducedto that stereotype."Claude Steele (1997)self-doubt, and anxiety (Ben-Zeev & others, 2005; Beilock & others,2007; Osborne, 2007). In turn, physiological arousal and distractingthoughts interfere with concentration, memory, andproblem-solving abilities (Schmader & others, 2008). And, ironically,those individuals who are most highly motivated to performwell are the ones most likely to be affected by stereotypethreat (Good & others, 2008).Hundreds of psychological studies have demonstrated that individualperformance on tests—even tests that are carefully designedto be fair and objective—is surprisingly susceptible tostereotype threat (Good & others, 2008; Kiefer & Sekaquaptewa,2007; Walton & Spencer, 2009). However, research also showsthat simply being aware of how stereotype threat can affect yourperformance helps minimize its negative effects (Johns & others,2005, 2008).>> Closing ThoughtsSo what conclusions can we draw about the debates surrounding intelligence,including the role of heredity in mental ability?First, it’s clear that the IQ score of any individual—regardless of his or herracial, social, or economic group—is the result of a complex interaction amonggenetic and environmental factors. Second, environmental factors are muchmore likely than genetic factors to account for average IQ differences among distinctgroups of people (Ceci & Williams, 2009). Third, within any given groupof people, IQ differences among people are due at least as much to environmentalinfluences as they are to genetic influences (Plomin & Spinath, 2004). Andfinally, IQ scores reflect what IQ tests are designed to measure—a particulargroup of mental abilities.As we’ve seen throughout this chapter, we draw on many different types ofmental abilities to solve problems, adapt to our environment, and communicatewith others. Our culture tends to define “intelligence” in terms of intellectualability. However, as Tom’s story in the Prologue illustrates, social intelligence isan important ingredient in everyday life. Cognitive flexibility and creative thinkingalso contribute to our ability to successfully adapt to our particular environment.Can you learn to be more creative? We invite you to attend a Workshopon Creativity in the Enhancing Well-Being with Psychology section at the end ofthis chapter.stereotype threatA psychological predicament in which fearthat you will be evaluated in terms of anegative stereotype about a group to whichyou belong creates anxiety and self-doubt,lowering performance in a particular domainthat is important to you.