Passage Two
One theory that has gained influence among sociologists is that some members of stigmatized groups, when faced with stressful situations, expect themselves to do worse — a prophecy that fulfills itself. These expectations, which can occur even in otherwise fair situations — such as, say, a standardized test —produce stress and threaten cognitive function. The effect is called “stereotype threat,” and African—Americans, girls, even jocks have all been shown susceptible to stereotype threat.
Now a new study shows that old people are also vulnerable to the phenomenon. Research psychologists recruited 103 volunteers, ages 60 to 82, to perform simple arithmetic and recall tests. The psychologists manipulated about half of the participants into feeling stereotype threat by telling them that the entire purpose of the tests was “to examine aging effects on memory.” That statement was designed to prime the participants’ worry that their advanced age would affect their performance. By contrast, participants in the control group were told that the tests had been constructed to correct for any biases that might be associated with age, a white lie imparted to damp down stereotype threat.
Those in the first group performed significantly worse on the memory tests than those whose internal stereotypes hadn’t been triggered. Interestingly, people between the ages of 60 and 70 were far more susceptible to stereotype threat than those aged 71 to 82. The authors theorize, persuasively, that people who have just entered their seventh decade are more sensitive to stereotype threat than those who have already been considered old for a decade.
Remarkably, the power of stereotype threat was enough to overcome true aptitude: even people who generally had good working memories and weren’t prone to anxiety — in short, great test—takers — performed worse after being reminded of their age. The power of stereotype is so strong that it can overwhelm many of our other traits.
But the good news is that you can flip this particular psychological coin on its opposite side: recent research has found that positive stereotype reinforcement may be just as powerful as any negative threat. Indiana University psychologists found that women’s performance on math tests did not suffer as researchers had expected, even when the typical “women are bad at math” stereotype was invoked, as long as a positive stereotype (say, college students are good at math) was presented at the same time. In this case, that means that the aged are likely to have better—functioning memories when they are told, for instance, that older people “have more experience” or “have seen it all before.”
Questions 6—10 are based on Passage Two.
6. What is the first paragraph mainly about?
A. Examples of discriminations. B. The concept of stereotype threat.
C. A dominant theory in sociology. D. Stressful situations for the stigmatized.
7. The word “vulnerable” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. weak B. incapable
C. insecure D. susceptible
8. The psychologist used a white lie to ______.
A. weaken the participants’ worry B. monitor the participants’ reaction
C. increase the difficulty of the tests D. correct biases associated with age
9. The difference between the participants in their 70s and those in their 60s was ______ .
A. the former did better on the tests
B. the latter were given easier questions
C. the latter took the results less seriously
D. the former showed more concern about age
10. What message does the author intend to convev in the last paragraph?
A. Negative stereotypes can be turned into positive ones.
B. More should be done to help those discriminated.
C. Stereotypes can be used as an advantage.
D. Discrimination on campus should be eliminated.
