Karin and her mother live on welfare in a poor, inner-city neighborhood in Detroit. Karin is quite bright and highly motivated, and she really wants to get a college education. However, she knows that, on average, students from low-income homes perform more poorly on a college aptitude than students from wealthier homes. When she takes the test, she is so nervous that she has trouble concentrating on the test items, and so her scores are disappointingly low. Which of the following concepts best explains what has happened to Karin?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Stereotype threat explains Karin's situation, where anxiety about conforming to a negative stereotype (in this case, the expectation that students from low-income homes perform poorly on tests) affects her performance, leading to lower scores than her abilities might otherwise predict.

Karin and Her Mother Live on Welfare in a Poor