Self-Affirmation: A Powerful Tool for Addressing Stereotype Threat

The infographic can help educators understand the benefit of self-affirmation classroom writing activities for Black and Latinx students, which have shown promise for buffering students of color against negative stereotype threat. "Stereotype threat" is the fear of confirming negative stereotypes about a group to which you belong and can be based on race, gender, or other group membership. Stereotype threat leads to poorer academic performance through a myriad of psychological, physiological, and behavioral responses, including stress, anxiety, decreased working memory, and increased vigilance to identity threat cues. This infographic illustrates how self-affirmation,an intervention aimed at reducing stereotype threat,can significantly mitigate its effects on academic outcomes, and generate significant improvements in grade point average (GPA) and test scores.