LifeBound recognizes Black History Month with a few words about how coaching can combat stereotype threat. Originally identified by social psychologist and Stanford professor of psychology Claude Steele and others in the mid-1990s, stereotype threat refers to stereotype-associated negative perceptions that increase anxiety and pressure, reduce available cognitive load, and often hamper performance. Professor Steele offers a concise discussion of the phenomenon in this short video discussing his book on the topic, Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do. In short, faced with a task that people with a particular identity are stereotypically said to do less well, a student with that identity may experience pressure that hampers their performance, in effect, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Within a coaching conversation, a coach can ask questions that illuminate the presence of stereotype threat, help students understand how stereotypical perceptions may be affecting them, and encourage choices that build self-efficacy. Such choices can help students move toward freeing their self-perception from damaging stereotypes and unlock better performance. Questions don't have to directly name stereotypes or identities to be effective. Consider these examples: 

• How do you perceive your ability to perform on [task]? On a scale of 1-10, how much do you expect to succeed?

• How does your expectation/perception make you feel?

• What effect has your expectation/perception had on your performance? 

• What do you believe has caused you to have this expectation/perception? 

• What evidence from your life disproves this expectation/perception?

• If you could let go of any negative perceptions of your ability, how would you prepare for this [task]?

• If no person or society had ever conveyed low expectations of you, how would you perform in [task/course]? 

• What can you do this week to begin to shift your self-perception? To open your mind to the possibility of fulfilling a higher expectation?

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