Explain what stereotype threat is, and how it affects performance

What will be an ideal response?

a . Possible Response Points:
i. Stereotype occurs when people fear that a stereotype that has been pointed out to them or made salient in some way will be confirmed by their own behavior.
ii. Stereotype threat raises anxiety levels in the person who experiences it, and that anxiety pushes the person to try to calm down. But when mental energies are routed towards calming strategies, those some mental resources cannot be used for problem solving on an intellectual performance task. Consequently, the person's performance on the task suffers.
iii. People may be able to be "inoculated" against stereotype threat. For example, older people who interacted with their grandchildren prior to doing a test on which they were told older adults generally experienced "bias" in the results did not see their performance suffer. Their counterparts who did not interact with grandchildren did see the performance deficit.