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Three
studies examined whether stereotype threat might arise
from exposure to stereotype-confirming messages in
television advertisements. In Experiment 1, male
and female undergraduates highly-identified with math
viewed a set of six television commercials that had
aired on national broadcasts. Half of the students
saw a set where two of the commercials were stereotypic
of women (one portraying a woman so excited about an
acne product that she bounced with joy on her bed and
another showing a woman excitedly anticipating eating
brownies made with a new mix), and the other half saw
two counter-stereotypic commercials (one showing a woman
exhibiting detailed knowledge of automotive engineering
and another depicting a woman speaking intelligently
about her concerns regarding health care). After
viewing these commercials, participants completed a
difficult math test and a measure of stereotype
activation. Although both men and women in the
stereotypic commercial condition exhibited greater
activation of female stereotypes, only women showed a
difference in math performance. Men and women
performed equally well on the math test in the
counter-stereotypic commercial condition, but women
performed more poorly than men in the stereotypic
commercial condition. Women's math performance was
mediated by the accessibility of stereotype-related
thoughts. Experiment 2 allowed male and female
participants to choose the types of items they would
complete after viewing sets of stereotypic or neutral
television commercials. Men were not affected by
the television commercials in terms of their selection
of items related to math or verbal ability. However, women were less likely to attempt math
items, and more likely to attempt verbal items, after
viewing the stereotypic advertisements, and their
performance on the math items was worse following the
stereotypic compared with the neutral ads. In Experiment
3, women and men indicated their interest in pursuing
various academic majors and careers after viewing the
stereotypic or neutral ads. Whereas men's
preferences were not affected by viewing ads, women's
preferences for pursuing verbal domains increased, and
their interest in pursuing quantitative domains
decreased, after viewing stereotypic commercials. These studies show that exposure to realistic materials
endorsing gender stereotypes can increase stereotype
threat as reflected in poorer domain performance and
reduced interest in domain-related activities and
interests.
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