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A CONVERSATION WITH CLAUDE M. STEELE

Stereotype Threat and Black Achievement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2009

Henry Louis Gates Jr.  and
Claude M. Steele
Henry Louis Gates Jr.*
Affiliation:
Harvard University
Claude M. Steele
Affiliation:
Columbia University
*
Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Studies, 104 Mount Auburn Street, 3R, Cambridge, MA 02138. E-mail: gates@harvard.edu
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Extract

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: Claude, what exactly is “stereotype threat”? And why does it matter for the intellectual performance of Black youth at school?

Claude M. Steele: Stereotype threat is a very simple experience that everybody has, I believe, a couple times a day. It refers to being in a situation or doing something for which a negative stereotype about one of your identities—your age, your race, your gender—is relevant to you. You know then that you could be seen and treated in terms of that stereotype. And if you care about what you're doing, the prospect of being judged and treated this way can be upsetting, distracting, and can interfere with your functioning in the situation.

Type
STATE OF THE DISCOURSE
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , Fall 2009 , pp. 251 - 271
Copyright
Copyright © W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research 2009

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