I opened the paper to read Sally Jenkins’ terrific piece about
Gabby Douglas and her disappointing finish on balance beam to
her otherwise remarkable Olympics. Ms. Jenkins describes the
incessant questions directed at the young athlete, many of which
revolved around her race and the supposed surprise that she had
done so well in a sport that has historically had few black
athletes. All I could think was, “stereotype threat.” Stereotype
threat, the term first introduced by social scientist Claude
Steel and colleagues, describes the underperformance one can
experience when the person’s circumstances put him in jeopardy
of confirming a negative stereotype about his social group. Put
another way, when negative stereotypes exist, the person becomes
anxious and does not perform at his maximum level. Among other
areas, Dr. Steele’s work has inspired fascinating studies about
academic underperformance of black students, wilting
entrepreneurial instincts of women and, most curious to me as a
recreational basketballer,