Date of Award:
5-2016
Document Type:
Dissertation
Degree Name:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department:
Psychology
Committee Chair(s)
Melanie M. Domenech Rodríguez
Committee
Melanie M. Domenech Rodríguez
Committee
Scott C. Bates
Committee
Donna Gilbertson
Committee
Azenett Garza
Committee
Eduardo Ortiz
Abstract
Despite increasing college enrollment rates for Black individuals, college completion rates remain dismal, thus the achievement gap between Black and White students remains in effect. One reason which may contribute to low completion rates for Black college students is stereotype threat. Stereotype threat is when an individual is at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about their group membership. For Blacks attending college, the threat would be related to academic underachievement. However, the impact of stereotype threat is highly individualized and an individual’s Black racial identity may impact stereotype threat for certain individuals.
Social comparison theory suggests that to gain an accurate self-evaluation, individuals compare their abilities and opinions of themselves to individuals who are similar to them. For Black students attending predominantly White colleges and universities that comparison is most likely to occur with a White student given the college’s demographic makeup. Engaging in such a comparison, however, could elicit stereotype threat. This study examined the impact of various social comparisons on stereotype threat, and further examined whether black racial identity impacted the relationship between social comparison and academic achievement.
Results indicated that stereotype threat was impacted the greatest for individuals whose social comparisons visibly appeared to be White, followed by those who did not receive an intervention, followed by those whose social comparisons visibly appeared to be Black, and followed by those whose social comparisons visibly appeared to belong to racial/ethnic minority groups other than Black. Additionally, Black racial identity did not appear to impact the relationship between social comparison and academic achievement. As opposed to having a social comparison who visibly appeared to be Black serve as a role model, the comparison served to further stereotype threat.
Checksum
eccc79f05a4c4c3b33925ae7dfe0c283
Recommended Citation
Knowles, Odessia, "The Impact of Social Comparisons on Stereotype Threat for Black College Students Attending Predominantly White Colleges and Universities" (2016). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023. 4967.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4967
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