Question

Vanessa, who is African-American, felt that her performance on the entrance exam was being judged by the standard of a negative stereotype when she was told by the assistant principal that white candidates performed 20% better. This is known as

a) Stereotype threat
b) Confirmation bias
c) Prejudice
d) Social facilitation

Answer 1

Vanessa experienced stereotype threat, which is the concern of being evaluated based on a negative stereotype. This phenomenon can detrimentally affect an individual's performance, and differs from concepts like confirmation bias, prejudice, and social facilitation.

Step-by-step explanation:

Vanessa's experience, where she felt her performance on an entrance exam was being negatively judged due to a stereotype, illuminates the concept known as stereotype threat. Stereotype threat occurs when an individual believes they are being evaluated based on a negative stereotype, which can impact their performance. This is different from confirmation bias, which is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses, and prejudice, which is a preconceived opinion not based on reason or actual experience. Social facilitation, on the other hand, refers to the tendency for people to perform differently when in the presence of others than when alone.

Understanding these psychological concepts helps in recognizing that treating individuals according to stereotypic beliefs can lead to prejudice and discrimination, and that in turn, when we interact with others, confirmation bias can reinforce our stereotypes if we only take note of evidence that supports our prejudices and ignore information that contradicts them.