Southern Discomfort: The Effects of Stereotype Threat on the Intellectual Performance of US Southerners

Compared to other negatively stereotyped groups, a paucity of research has examined stereotypes of US southerners. Building from past research and theory on the phenomenon of stereotype threat, the current research examined the possibility that activating negative stereotypes of people from the southern US can undermine their performance on intellectual tasks. In four studies, southern US college students took a test consisting of difficult mathematical and verbal questions. When negative stereotypes about their group were activated, performance was lower compared to conditions in which stereotypes were not made salient. In addition, performance decrements associated with stereotype activation were found to be linked with individual differences in group identification. Results showed that higher levels of identification as a southerner predicted lower levels of test performance.