The face of STEM: Racial phenotypic stereotypicality predicts STEM persistence by—and ability attributions about—students of color.

Abstract

. Advance online publication. October 15, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000153), the Editor' Note acknowledging Toni Schmader as the action editor for this article was omitted. All versions of this article have been corrected.] Despite strong initial interest, college students-especially those from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds-leave STEM majors at high rates. Here, we explore the role of racial phenotypic stereotypicality, or how typical one's physical appearance is of one's racial group, in STEM persistence. In a longitudinal study, URM students were especially likely to leave STEM to the extent that they looked more stereotypical of their group; Asian American students were especially likely to leave STEM to the extent that they looked less stereotypical. Three experiments documented a possible mechanism; participants (Studies 2-4), including college advisors (Study 3), attributed greater STEM ability to more-stereotypical Asian Americans and to less-stereotypical Black women (not men), than to same-race peers. Study 4 showed that prejudice concerns, activated in interactions with Black men (not women), account for this gender difference; more-stereotypical Black men (like women) were negatively evaluated when prejudice concerns were not salient. This work has important implications for ongoing efforts to achieve diversity in STEM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

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