Can the stereotype threat model be applicable to fatiguing tasks?

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IntroductionAccording to the stereotype threat model (Steele, 1997), people can underperform on a task when thinking about the negative performance expectations of their group. Based on this theory, many studies showed a negative influence of stereotypes on performance during motor tasks such as basketball shooting (e.g., Hively & El-Alayli, 2014). However, there is evidence that, under stereotype threat, women's performance may not always be altered (Chalabaev et al., 2013). In this study, maximal strength was not negatively influenced by the stereotype manipulation. The authors suggested that simple one-step skills (i.e., simple tasks) are not impaired by the explicit monitoring of task execution. However, these past studies mostly focused on tasks that do not require energy expenditure (e.g., Hively & El-Alayli, 2014). It is well known that psychological factors such as emotion regulation (Wagstaff, 2014), or motivation (e.g., Andreacci et al., 2012) strongly influence performance during prolonged motor tasks, which induce fatigue. In addition to individual psychological factors, social factors are also likely to influence motor performance, in particular stereotypes (e.g., Hively & El-Alayli, 2014). However, to our knowledge, no studies have examined the influence of stereotypes on performance during fatiguing tasks. The present research investigated the influence of stereotype threat on simple fatiguing tasks. As fatiguing tasks have never been studied in the stereotype threat literature, several hypotheses may be advanced: activation of a negative stereotype about women will decrease their performance (stereotype threat effect, Hypothesis 1) or activation of a negative stereotype threat about women will not decrease their performance (simple tasks, Hypothesis 2). To test these hypotheses, two studies were conducted on two different fatiguing tasks (i.e., a submaximal task (Study 1), and a maximal task (Study 2)). MethodIn Study 1, seventy-seven highly-identified students (38 women and 39 men; Mage = 19.81, SDage = 1.69) from a sport university, were recruited. They were assigned to one of the three conditions (i.e., stereotypical, nullified-stereotype, and control condition). Participants had to maintain a percentage of their maximal strength for as long as possible, twice (once for baseline measures (T1) and the second time after of the condition was induced (T2)). Performance was characterized by the difference between T1 and T2 time to exhaustion and analyzed in 2 (Sex) x 3 (Condition) ANOVAS. In Study 2, forty students from a sport university (20 women and 20 men; Mage = 20.19, SDage = 1.29) were recruited. Each participant was assigned to each condition (similar to Study 1; within-subject design) for three different sessions. The fatiguing task was a succession of 30 isometric maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) and the stereotype threat manipulation was induced between the fifteenth and sixteenth contractions during each session. In this study, fatigue was quantified in order to detect its origin (central vs. peripheral), and psychological variables were also measured (e.g., self-competence). Concerning the induction of the conditions, participants were told that "women had been shown to underperform on this task relative to men"(stereotypical condition), or that"the test had not been shown to produce gender differences"(nullified-stereotype condition), or nothing was told (control condition). For performance (defined as the percentage of strength loss) and other variables, ANOVAs with repeated measures were run. ResultsIn Study 1, analyses revealed that the difference in time to exhaustion between T1 and T2 was smaller for individuals in the stereotypical condition (M=-0.46; SD=12.27) than individuals in the nullified-stereotype condition (M=10.33; SD=16.36) and individuals in the control condition (M=9.24; SD=21.96), F(2,71) = 3.30, p<.04, η2=.08. In Study 2, strength decrease was lower for individuals in the stereotypical condition (M=14.25; SD=5.54) than in the nullified-stereotype condition (M=16.53; SD=4.46) and in the control condition (M=16.73; SD=6.72), F(2,78) = 3.46, p<.036, η2=.08 . These results suggested that both men and women increase their performance when a negative stereotype about women was induced. Moreover, in Study 2, analyses showed a better self-competence for both men and women in the stereotypical condition, F(2,78) = 2.94, p<.05, η2=.07.DiscussionThe major finding of these two studies was the increase of performance in threatened women during prolonged motor tasks, suggesting that negative stereotypes can be beneficial to performance, this may be probably caused by an increase of self-competence. One possible explanation could be the implication of the mere effort account. It argues that stereotype threat motivates participants to perform well, which potentiates the prepotent responses of the task. If this response is correct, performance is increased, and conversely. During technical tasks, many responses can be made, hence the stereotype threat effect sometimes observed (incorrect response). As the two studies conducted were simple (no coordination) fatiguing tasks, there is only one possible response for each study and consequently the prepotent response is correct leading to performance improvement. Furthermore, these results can also be due to the sample used. Participants were from a sport university and were highly-identified with the sport domain. It is possible that when individuals were highly identified with the domain, as compared to moderately identified, they were more engaged to counter this stereotype. Further research is needed to test this hypothesis and observe if a high level of identification could boost or not boost the performance. This surprising finding suggests that women's performance could be improved in physical activities considered as a male domain (Riemer & Visio, 2003). As women are generally perceived as weakly competent (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002), this increased performance observed under stereotype threat may encourage people to perceive women as more competent in this domain.ReferencesAndreacci, J. L., LeMura, L. M., Cohen, S. L., Urbansky, E. A., Chelland, S. A., & Von Duvillard, S. P. (2002). The effects of frequency of encouragement on performance during maximal exercise testing. Journal of Sports Science, 20(4), 345-52. doi: 10.1080/026404102753576125 Chalabaev, A., Brisswalter, J., Radel, R., Coombes, S. A., Easthope, C., & Clement- Guillotin, C. (2013). Can stereotype threat affect motor performance in the absence of explicit monitoring processes? Evidence using a strength task. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 35, 211– 215. doi: https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.35.2.211 Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J. C., Glick, P., & Xu, J. (2002). A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 878-902. doi: 10.1037//0022- 3514.82.6.878 Hively, K., & El-Alayli, A. (2014). "You throw like a girl:" The effect of stereotype threat on women's athletic performance and gender stereotypes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 15, 48–55. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2013.09.001 Riemer, B. A., & Visio, M. E. (2003). Gender typing of sports: an investigation of Metheny's classification. Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport, 74, 193-204. doi: 10.1080/02701367.2003.10609081Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. The American Psychologist, 52, 613–629. doi :10.1037/0003- 066X.52.6.613 Wagstaff, C. R. D. (2014). Emotion regulation and sport performance. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 36, 401-412. doi: 10.1123/jsep.2013-0257 Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2003). Stereotype lift. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39, 456–467. doi:10.1016/S0022-1031(03)00019-2

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