Stereotype Lift

Abstract

When a negative stereotype impugns the ability or worth of an outgroup, people may experience stereotype lift-a performance boost that occurs when downward comparisons are made with a denigrated outgroup. In a meta-analytic review, members of nonstereotyped groups were found to perform better when a negative stereotype about an outgroup was linked to an intellectual test stereotyped than when it was not (d = .24, p < .0001). Notably, people appear to link negative stereotypes to evaluative tests more or less automatically. Simply presenting a test as diagnostic of ability was thus sufficient to induce stereotype lift. Only when negative stereotypes were explicitly invalidated or rendered irrelevant to the test did the lift effect disappear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

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