Distracted by the Unthought – Suppression and Reappraisal of Mind Wandering under Stereotype Threat

Previous research has found that subtle reminders of negative stereotypes about one’s group can lead individuals to underperform on stereotype-relevant tests (e.g., women in math, ethnic minorities on intelligence tests). This so called stereotype threat effect can contribute to systematic group differences in performance that can obscure the true abilities of certain social groups and thereby sustain social inequalities. In the present study, we examined processes underlying stereotype threat effects on women’s math performance, specifically focusing on the role of suppression of mind wandering (i.e., task-irrelevant thinking) in stereotype threat (ST) and no threat (NT) situations. Based on a process model of stereotype threat effects on performance, we hypothesized that women under stereotype threat spontaneously suppress mind wandering, and that this suppression impairs performance. An alternative regulation strategy that prevents suppression (i.e., reappraising task-irrelevant thoughts as normal) was predicted to prevent stereotype threat effects on performance. We manipulated stereotype threat (ST vs. NT) and cognitive regulation strategy (suppression, reappraisal, or no strategy) and measured women’s performance on a math and a concentration task (N = 113). We expected three groups to perform relatively more poorly: Those in ST with either no strategy or suppression and those in NT with a suppression strategy. We tested the performance of these groups against the remaining three groups hypothesized to perform relatively better: those in NT with no strategy or reappraisal and those in ST with reappraisal. The results showed the expected pattern for participants’ math performance, but not for concentration achievement. This pattern suggests that ineffective self-regulation by suppressing mind wandering can at least partly explain stereotype threat effects on performance, whereas a reappraisal strategy can prevent this impairment. We discuss implications for the understanding of processes underlying stereotype threat effects and the benefits of reappraising subjective experience under threat.既往研究表明，对所属群体负面刻板印象的细微提示，会导致个体在与刻板印象相关的测试中表现欠佳，例如女性在数学测试中的表现、少数族裔在智力测试中的表现。这种被称为刻板印象威胁（stereotype threat）的效应，会引发系统性的群体表现差异，掩盖特定社会群体的真实能力，进而维持社会不平等。 本研究旨在探究刻板印象威胁效应对女性数学表现的作用机制，重点关注抑制心智游移（即与任务无关的思维）在刻板印象威胁（ST）与无威胁（NT）情境中的作用。基于刻板印象威胁影响表现的过程模型，本研究提出如下假设：处于刻板印象威胁中的女性会自发抑制心智游移，而这种抑制行为会损害其任务表现。另一种可避免抑制行为的认知调节策略（即，将与任务无关的思维重新评价为正常现象），被认为能够缓解刻板印象威胁对任务表现的负面影响。 本研究对刻板印象威胁（ST组与NT组）以及认知调节策略（抑制、重评或无策略）进行了实验操纵，并测试了113名女性在数学任务与注意力任务中的表现（N=113）。我们预期有三组参与者的表现会相对更差：ST组中采用无策略或抑制策略的个体，以及NT组中采用抑制策略的个体。我们将上述三组的表现与其余三组假设表现相对更优的组别进行了对比：NT组中采用无策略或重评策略的个体，以及ST组中采用重评策略的个体。 研究结果在参与者的数学表现上验证了预期的模式，但在注意力任务成绩上并未得到验证。该模式表明，通过抑制心智游移进行的无效自我调节，至少可以部分解释刻板印象威胁对任务表现的影响，而重评策略则能够避免这种表现受损。 本研究最后讨论了该结果对于理解刻板印象威胁效应背后机制的启示，以及在威胁情境下对主观体验进行重评的益处。