Armor against prejudice.

Stereotype threat, the fear of failing in a way that reinforces derogatory stereotypes of one’s social group, undermines performance in school, sports and the workplace. Recently researchers have developed a more sophisticated understanding of how such anxiety arises, how to combat it and how to prevent it from occurring in the first place. Relatively simple and brief confidence-boosting exercises shrink academic achievement gaps. Educators are now scaling up these interventions to statewide programs. PSYC H O LO GY