Do negative stereotypes and domain identification moderate novice participants' performance on a soccer-dribbling task ?

The present research aimed to explore whether negative stereotypes and domain identification moderate novice participants' performance on a soccer-dribbling task, using a novel statistical procedure to explore within-subjects moderation effects. Fifty-four women with no soccer experience (Mage = 19.92, SDage = 1.0) were recruited and assigned to a negative stereotype condition or a nullified-stereotype condition and performed a soccer-dribbling task as fast as possible. Using moderation analyses for repeated measures, results showed (i) that inducing a negative stereotype did not moderate participants' performance, and (ii) that domain identification did not moderate participants' performance in a stereotype threat situation. In conclusion, the novice participants performance did not depend on the value of domain identification and the stereotype condition. More research is nonetheless needed to disentangle the question of how and why novice participants can be impacted by a stereotype threat situation.

Effect of a sex stereotype on cortical activity during a self-paced exercise: A motor-related cortical potential approach.

Recent research has shown that inducing a negative stereotype toward women does not always decrease the subsequent motor performance of women, but can increase it, especially during endurance tasks. The mechanisms involved are nonetheless still poorly understood. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a negative stereotype toward women on men's and women's performance during an endurance task, and to analyze the neuropsychological mechanisms involved through motor-related cortical potentials and motivation toward men/women. Thirty-four participants were assigned to a negative stereotype toward women condition and a nullified-stereotype condition and performed 80 self-paced intermittent isometric elbow contractions at a moderate perceived intensity. Results showed that women performed better when assigned to the negative stereotype toward women condition, they were more motivated to outperform men, and their MRCP amplitudes were higher in this same condition over the prefrontal cortex (i.e., FP1 and FP2). Concerning men, they also performed better when the negative stereotype toward women was induced. However, no effect emerged on motivation toward women and MRCP amplitudes. This study showed that inducing a negative stereotype during an endurance task led to a performance increase in women, which is contrary to the stereotype threat theory, strengthening the idea of a task-dependency effect when inducing a negative stereotype. This performance improvement observed in women may be caused by increased motivation to outperform men and a planning of the upcoming movement. Concerning men, more research is needed to clarify the mechanisms involved in such performance improvement.

Does the Effect of Stereotypes in Older People Depend Upon Task Intensity?

This study examined the effect of negative and positive stereotypes on the strength produced by older adults at different perceived effort intensities, reflecting different levels of task difficulty. Fifty older women were randomly assigned to a positive stereotype, a negative stereotype, or a control condition. Before (T1) and after (T2) the stereotype manipulation, they were asked to perform a voluntary isometric contraction at a level of muscular effort that corresponded to four perceived effort intensities ("easy," "moderate," hard" and "very hard"). Results showed that participants attained greater strength during the easy and hard tasks after exposure to both positive and negative stereotypes. At the moderate and very hard intensities, stereotype induction did not significantly change the strength from the baseline performance. While these results are not fully in line with the stereotype threat theory, they provide evidence that task difficulty could modulate the effect of aging stereotypes during physical tasks.

Can the Stereotype Threat and Lift Phenomenon Be Applicable to a Muscular Endurance Task?

Purpose. Inducing a negative stereotype toward women usually leads to a decrease in women performance and an increase in men performance. These effects were observed during technical tasks. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of this sex stereotype during a non-technical muscular endurance task. The perception of effort, closely related to endurance performance, was also recorded. Based on the type of task and the mere effort account, we predicted that both men and women in the negative stereotype toward women condition would perform better than participants in the two other groups. Method. Seventy-seven participants (38 women and 39 men) were randomly assigned to a negative stereotype toward women, a nullified-stereotype, or a control condition. Then, they performed a submaximal handgrip task until exhaustion at 50% of their maximal strength. Results. This study showed that performance at T2 was reduced for men and women in the nullified-stereotype and control conditions, but not in the negative stereotype toward women condition, revealing that participants in the negative stereotype toward women condition performed better than participants in the other conditions. No significant difference was observed concerning the perception of effort according to the conditions. Conclusion. As compared to technical tasks, inducing a negative stereotype toward women increased women's performance. The perception of effort could be responsible for this performance improvement. However, more research is needed to investigate the mechanisms involved. Concerning men, in line with the stereotype lift phenomenon, a performance increase was observed in this same condition.

"Men are Better Than Women!" The Positive Effect of a Negative Stereotype Toward Women on a Self-Paced Cycling Exercise.

Previous research on the stereotype threat phenomenon has shown that inducing a negative stereotype toward a group debilitates motor performance despite the increase in motivation. Most of the studies focused on tasks requiring technical skills. However, what happens when the task does not require technical skills but focuses on energy expenditure? To examine this question, 34 male and female participants were assigned to a negative stereotype toward women and a nullified-stereotype condition and performed 20 min of self-paced cycling exercise. The authors hypothesized better performances when participants were assigned to the negative stereotype toward women condition than when assigned to the nullified-stereotype condition. As predicted, men and women increased their performances, accompanied by increases in heart rate. Concerning women, this result provides support for the notion that the effect of inducing a negative stereotype is task dependent, but further research is needed to more deeply investigate the mechanisms involved.

If You Are Old and Do Not Want to Fall into The Traditional Stereotype--Be Physically Active!

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Based on the stereotype content model and the behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes map (Cuddy et al., 2008; Advances in experimental social psychology [Vol. 40, pp. 61-149], New York: Academic Press), we examined whether being physically active may challenge the traditional stereotypes related to older adults. METHODS: We compared how 94 participants (M(age) = 24.48 years, SD = 7.15 years) judged one of three target groups (older adults in general, physically active older adults, and socially active older adults), with regard to perceived status and competition, warmth and competence judgments, emotional and behavioral reactions. RESULTS: Results showed that being physically active was associated with higher status and competence. Physically active older adults were specifically viewed as an admired group eliciting both active (helping) and passive facilitation (associating) tendencies. CONCLUSION: Beyond the well-known health perspective related to the regular participation of older adults in physical activity, the present results open a social optimistic perspective, in which being physically active seems a promising way to challenge the widespread and resistant stereotype content of older people commonly perpetuated.

Can stereotype threat affect motor performance in the absence of explicit monitoring processes? Evidence using a strength task.

Previous evidence shows that stereotype threat impairs complex motor skills through increased conscious monitoring of task performance. Given that one-step motor skills may not be susceptible to these processes, we examined whether performance on a simple strength task may be reduced under stereotype threat. Forty females and males performed maximum voluntary contractions under stereotypical or nullified-stereotype conditions. Results showed that the velocity of force production within the first milliseconds of the contraction decreased in females when the negative stereotype was induced, whereas maximal force did not change. In males, the stereotype induction only increased maximal force. These findings suggest that stereotype threat may impair motor skills in the absence of explicit monitoring processes, by influencing the planning stage of force production.

Development and validation of the aging stereotypes and exercise scale.

This article presents the development and validation of the aging stereotypes and exercise scale (ASES), which measures different dimensions of aging stereotypes in the exercise domain. Drawing on past research on older adults' perceived barriers to exercise, these dimensions include stereotypes about positive and negative exercise outcomes for older adults and about older adults' psychological barriers to exercise (i.e., lack of self-efficacy and motivation). Four studies involving 714 participants examined the factorial structure and invariance, temporal stability, and external validity of the scale. The results supported a 3-factor model that was invariant across age. Age differences in stereotype content appeared, with older adults holding more positive stereotypes than younger adults. Also as predicted, the more older adults endorsed negative stereotypes, the lower their physical self- worth, self-rated health, and subjective age. Last, responses to the ASES appeared to be stable over a 6-wk period.