Stereotypes can be a threat to performance. On the other end of the spectrum, when you praise an employee they will have more motivation to do well. The reason why all of this happens is because of the anxiety that is caused by being judged. When an employee notices that they are being judged they become anxious and it is harder for them to concentrate on the task. If the employee is being judged on a stereotype, they may reject that stereotype, but still cannot avoid it.
Steel advises employers to challenge their employees.
This tutorial was produced for Psy 324, Advanced Social Psychology, Spring 2000 at Miami University. All graphics are from the public domain, used with permission, or were created by the authors. This document has been accessed 499 times since 1 May 2000.