Blog 4

When we feel that we are representative a group, or a cause larger than ourself, we often feel pressure to ensure that we are representing that group in a positive fashion. It is important to us that we belong to strong groups. That is why when we feel that when we are representing a group in an area in which stereotypically our group does poorly, we feel added pressure to perform well at the task (Ben-Zeev et al., 2005; Blascovich et al., 2001; O'Brien & Crandall, 2003).

I can remember feeling pressured to represent women in several different areas throughout my life. One example is when I was an athlete the summer before my 6th grade year. I was 12 years old and one of the best female athletes in my school. That summer I took The Althlete's Course, a challenging and rigorous daily morning workout offered at the high school. Only one other girl took the course, a 10th grader at the high school. I felt intimidated by all of the high school football players, and also felt that I was representing not only my sex but also my age. I worked hard every day, and got to the point where I was bench pressing 70 pounds. To this day, I cannot even bench press that amount of weight, but I felt especially pressured to do well, and among guys lift upwards of 100 pounds and much more, I definitely still had a long way to go.

Similarly, I have always been interested in math and science. I've excelled in those subjects as well, passing a year and taking algebra a year earlier than others my age. In my advanced math and science classes, there were usually more boys than girls. One year, I was one of 2 girls in a class of about 15 students in an advanced biology class. I felt added pressure not only to make good grades for myself, but also to break the stereotype that men are better than women in the physical sciences.

References:

Ben-Zeev, T., Fein, S., & Inzlicht, M. (2005). Arousal and stereotype threat. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 44, 170-202.

Blascovich, J., Spencer, S., Quinn, D. & Steele, C. (2001). African Americans and high blood pressure: The role of stereotype threat. Psychological Science, 12, 225-229.

O'Brien, L., & Crandall, C. (2003). Stereotype threat and arousal: Effects of women's math performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 782-789.