Banafsheh is a female student in a graduate program in pure mathematics. On the first day of classes, she notices that she is one of the only females in the group. Consequently, she feels more conscious of her gender in that situation. At the start of the class, the instructor gives each student a written quiz to assess their current level of knowledge. When taking this test, Banafsheh, being particularly aware of her gender, is most likely to experience which of the following phenomena? a. extrinsic motivation

b. stereotype threat

c. functional fixedness

d. mental set

b. Stereotype threat

Explanation:

Stereotype threat refers to being at risk of confirming, as a self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's social group (Steele & Aronson, 1995).

When one views oneself in terms of a salient group membership (e. g., "I am a woman. Women are not expected to study engineering as a course." and "This is a difficult course of study to choose."), aspirations can be squashed because of concerns about possibly confirming negative stereotypes about one's group.

Thus, situations that increase the salience of the stereotyped group identity can increase vulnerability to stereotype threat.

Some of the consequences of stereotype threat include;

Decreased performance in academic and non-academic domains Disengagement Altered professional aspirations, etc.