Stereotype Threat

I had never heard about stereotype threat until this point. I mean, I know that stereotypes are usually seen as a bad thing, but I did not know about the deeper implications of stereotypes on people's performance.

Interestingly, when we feel like we are part of a certain stereotype - and we all do sometimes - part of us automatically sees ourselves as actually being like that, while the other part tries to fight it.

The bad thing about it is that, sometimes, we might accept this stereotype as true, even if unconsiously, and use it as an excuse for not trying harder. For example, the stereotype that women aren't as good at meth as men might make them not try as hard as men when solving very hard meth problems. The problem is super hard for both genders, but women, being aware of the stereotype, might not be as confident they can solve this problem and, because of that, give up looking for the solution before men do.

The most common stereotype threat I've felt is about my age and generation. Usually people beleve that generation Y can't compromise, won't stick to a job, has many ideas but won't make things happen.

In my opinion, the best thing to do in these situations is to try to give the person a different perspective on that thought, but without expecting them to understand. We souldn't really internalize these kinds of stereotypes, but we can transform them in fuel to show the world it is wrong and do much better then expected.