When normally high-achieving females are asked to perform math problems and verbal tasks in a room where they are outnumbered by males, the women perform ____.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is known as stereotype threat, where the fear of confirming negative stereotypes about one's group negatively influences their performance. In this case, the stereotype is that women are worse at math than men. This can cause the women to underperform on math tasks but not on verbal tasks where there is no such stereotype.

When Normally High-Achieving Females Are Asked to Perform Math Problems