Emma overheard the driver education instructor rant and rave about how the girls in Emma's group were the worst drivers he'd ever had the misfortune to teach in his 30 years of teaching high school students to drive. When it was Emma's turn to practice her driving skills with the instructor, she performed worse than usual, forgetting to use turn signals, turning the wheel the wrong way when backing up, and running over two plastic cones when attempting to parallel park. What is the MOST likely explanation for Emma's poor performance behind the wheel?
A) Emma is relying on the wrong heuristics in her attempts to learn how to drive.
B) Emma is low in bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
C) Emma's driving skills have deteriorated because of the influence of the prototype threat.
D) Emma's driving skills have deteriorated because of the influence of stereotype threat.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Emma's poor performance can be explained by the influence of stereotype threat. After overhearing the instructor's negative comments about the girls in her group, Emma may have internalized those stereotypes and felt like she was unable to perform well behind the wheel because of her gender. This can lead to anxiety and can impair performance. This phenomenon is called stereotype threat.

Emma Overheard the Driver Education Instructor Rant and Rave About