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Aronson has written a number of papers on the topic of Stereotype Threat, which he defined as \"apprehension arising from the awareness of a negative stereotype or personal reputation in a situation where the stereotype is relevant, and thus confirmable.\" In other words, Stereotype Threat is when a person is negatively affected by the presence or perceived presence of a stereotype. Aronson discussed how stereotypes affect achievement in school, increase dropout rates, and even lower IQ scores.
A number of theories have been used to explain underperformance of minority students, said Aronson. But, the most accurate theory, and that upon which his research is based, is social psychological. Aronson said that intelligence is not static as many people believe, but is very \"fragile\" and can be affected by a number of factors. Social factors include interpersonal intimidation, feelings of not belonging and Stereotype Threat.
Aronson used President George W. Bush as an example of Stereotype Threat lowering intelligence. The President is notorious for his poor grammar and \"Bush-isms,\" but Aronson said that in his early years as a politician Bush never had trouble with public speaking and had achieved a high verbal SAT score. Aronson attributes Bush\'s seeming loss of IQ to the fact that, as he became better known, the President felt he needed to deflect stereotypes that were projected on him. Aronson stressed that it does not take much to suppress intelligence.
Aronson cited a number of studies by himself and other psychologists that demonstrate how a seemingly insignificant factor can decrease intelligence. When people are made aware that a task is evaluative or if they are reminded of stereotypes, a poorer performance is nearly always correlative. For example, Blacks score far lower on GRE tests when they are asked beforehand to indicate their race; women do worse on math tests when asked to indicate gender; Latinos perform worse on verbal tests when asked to indicate their ethnicity.
Even non-minority groups can be affected by Stereotype Threat. White male engineering students at Stanford University, who generally consider themselves to be extremely intelligent, performed worse on math tests when they were primed beforehand that they were being evaluated against Asians.
\"Stereotype Threat doesn\'t need pushing. It can arise rather organically,\" said Aronson. Although Stereotype Threat is pervasive and very easy to create, Aronson did offer solutions to the problem. Stereotype Threat can be reduced by changing the situation-by decreasing prejudice, evaluation, social isolation, competition and mistrust.
Aronson emphasized that it is important to \"stress the expandable nature of intellectual competence.\" Understanding Stereotype Threat could greatly improve performance of minorities in schools. And knowing that intelligence is malleable and that test taking is an improvable skill can help everyone to succeed.