Bill is a retired aircraft mechanic, who has agreed to talk to a group of high school students about the early days of commercial aviation. Bill is concerned that any slip in his memory will confirm the belief that all older people are forgetful. Because he is anxious and preoccupied about possible memory lapses, Bill actually does have problems with his memory. This illustrates that
A)negative stereotypes can have a self-fulfilling quality.
B)most stereotypes have some degree of truth to them.
C)all older people have frequent memory lapses.
D)stereotypes are never positive.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Bill's concern about confirming a negative stereotype (that all older people are forgetful) leads to anxiety and preoccupation, which in turn causes him to experience memory problems. This is an example of how negative stereotypes can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, where the fear of embodying the stereotype actually causes the stereotyped behavior to occur.

Bill Is a Retired Aircraft Mechanic, Who Has Agreed to Talk