The effect of stereotypes on black college test scores at a historically black university

We conducted lab experiments at a historically black university (HBCU), replicating the design and procedure, but not the results, of previous stereotype threat studies. The experimental design has two factors: stereotype salience (priming) and the identity of the experimenter (a less-threatening black woman vs. a more-threatening white man). Unlike previous studies, we found no effect of stereotype threat on student performance. We find little evidence that black students at the HBCU are affected by stereotype threat, regardless of the identity of the experimenter. We found no significant difference in the number of questions answered correctly by subjects in the control and treatment conditions in either the white male or the black female experimenter sessions. Finally, we found little evidence to support our prediction that subjects would respond differently to the identity of the experimenter. Having a black female experimenter, as opposed to a white male experimenter, had no effect on the number of questions answered correctly.

Duke Scholars

Author William A. Darity Jr. Sanford School of Public Policy