Women self-stereotype with feminine stereotypical traits under stereotype threat

Is self-stereotyping part of the stereotype threat process? The self-concepts of 122 male and female business students were assessed by self-report and the Implicit Association Test (Greenwald, McGhee & Schwartz, 1998). The participants were either told that their salary negotiating ability would be assessed (stereotype threat) or not. There were no sex-differences in the non-diagnostic condition but in the stereotype threat condition, the women explicitly self-stereotyped with feminine stereotypical traits. There was also a trend for the women under stereotype threat to implicitly self-stereotype. As the self-concept is considered an important regulator of behavior, the result is discussed in terms of its potential to explain stereotype threat effects.