Contraction of the Working Self-Concept in Stressful Environments: Evidence From Two Daily Diary Studies

• In Event: 34.031 - New Directions in the Research on Self-Concept and Perceived Competence

Abstract

The negative effects of stereotype threat on academic outcomes among underrepresented minority (URM) students have been extensively documented. However, one mechanism implicit its original formulation has gone largely untested: that under stereotype threat, negatively stereotyped group identities dominate the working self-concept while other valued self-aspects that provide a sense of self-worth are suppressed. Two daily diary studies tracked this self-contraction among URM university students and examined its implications for academic outcomes. Study 1 found that URM students experienced greater self-contraction and lower academic confidence on campus than their non-URM peers. Most critically, self-contraction mediated the relationship between URM status and confidence. Study 2 directly replicates Study 1's methods with the addition of examining participants’ official grades.

Authors

• Alexander S. Browman, Boston College

• David B. Miele, Boston College

• Gregory Mariotti Walton, Stanford University