SAP Seminar, Dr Kevin Jarbo

Clearing the Air: Understanding Stereotype Threat Effects on Student Decision Making

Over twenty-five years of research on stereotype threat has provided abundant evidence of its detrimental impact on academic performance for minoritized and underrepresented groups in higher education (e.g., women, Black and Latinx students). However, very little work examines stereotype threat effects on academically relevant behavior and decision-making. Namely, how do students decide to engage with academic resources and curriculum after experiencing stereotype threat? For instance, a Black engineering student who just failed a math test may choose to not attend a professor’s office hours or to procrastinate on an upcoming math assignment out of concern about negative evaluations that constitute potential threats to the self. These avoidant behavioral decisions may then mediate subsequent drops in academic performance. In this talk, I will advance a model of stereotype threat avoidance that incorporates behavioral economics and judgment and decision-making research to explain how students might make help-seeking and procrastination decisions by weighing academic benefits together with the costs associated with a potentially threatening experience. I will present some preliminary findings and future directions from a multi-site, multi-phase study that investigates whether or not students experience stereotype threat “over the air” to impact academic help-seeking and procrastination.

For access to this seminar, please register here, a link will be sent to you within a few days of the talk. For later registrations, the link will be sent an hour before the start time.