Stereotype threat produces measurable physiological stress responses in body and brain

Evidence

Stereotype threat is similar to identity anxiety, often emerging in the performance of a challenging task, but also potentially undercutting trust in institutions. Stereotype threat is the frequently unconscious fear that one’s actions may confirm stereotypes that others hold about oneself (Steele, 2010). Stereotype threat can cause individuals to attempt to discern whether they are confirming negative racial stereotypes or whether they are being judged based on those stereotypes (Cohen & Garcia, 2005). The physical manifestation of this conflict can be detected in both the body and brain, through increased heart rate and rising blood pressure, and in the brain regions that regulate emotion (Walton & Spencer, 2009). — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1374

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines stereotype threat precisely with physiological evidence of real, measured effect rather than mere self-report.
• QUESTION: The reader’s core question: does this unconscious measured fear diverge from what individuals profess about group relations — is measured stereotype threat independent of consciously held egalitarian belief?
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 1374
• XREF: connects to: Stress drives the brain toward cognitively cheaper confirmation bias — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 117; Online racial abuse triggers measurable physiological stress responses — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian…, 15