My Thoughts on Stereotype Threat

I don't believe that I have ever experienced stereotype threat, which I suppose makes sense since I am an American white male. They only time that I can remember where I felt distinctly out of place due to my background was at my second high school. It was a college preparatory school with very high achieving students whose parents took a very active role in their educations and they were therefore way ahead of the curve. These students were doing college level multi-variable calculus and linear algebra as juniors in high school! Not to mention that they could play instruments, speak several languages, and converse on cultural and political ideas that I was completely unaware of. I definitely felt out of place and some of the students were very cruel and inconsiderate of my background and how that may have effected my social and academic abilities. I definitely felt under treat every day.However, despite this anxiety, I do not feel that it affected my performance. I saw the entire experience as an opportunity and I was confident that I could thrive there if I just 'put my nose to the grindstone' as my father would put it. Thankfully, there were a few students who went out of their way to be kind and almost all of the teachers were amazing. So, I did work hard and I did thrive despite my perception of being inferior.

However, that is not to say that I do not believe that stereotype threat exists or that we do not need to be vigilant so that we do not contribute to the problem. I found the body of research regarding this phenomena both intriguing and disturbing. Dealing with such a nebulous threat is difficult. I suppose my approach to this problem would be the yogi philosophy of 'loving kindness'. Just let everyone you meet know that you love everyone with equal measure and that you just want to see everyone prosper and be happy regardless of nationality, race, education, or net worth. As for how to convince an individual experiencing stereotype threat that they have nothing to worry about; I am not as sure. The subconscious is a slippery animal and it is not often convinced by words alone. The research suggests that confidence building and working hard do not help, but a change in perspective does. So, the best route would be to get the victim of stereotype threat together with his or her prosecutors so that they can learn first hand that they are not a threat. If that is not practical changing the mind's perspective and framing reference through meditation might be a worth while alternative. A well balanced mind at peace is not easily upset by external forces such as stereotype threat in my opinion.

As a final thought, while I have not experienced stereotype threat, I have experienced the effects of preconceived ideas and self identities on cognitive ability and over all happiness. For many years I struggled with a mind set that I had about myself derived from my experiences in socializing that severely affected both my ability to grow academically, professionally, and socially. While these subconscious afflictions have almost completely disappeared over the years I still remember how devastating they were and how important it is to be aware of how our words and actions can affect others. Stereotype threat and other triggers of subconscious anxiety are important to be aware of and we should all strive to always encourage others and to include them as part of a greater group, who like them, are just trying to live our lives in peace and happiness.