The negative effects of stereotype threat on women’s spatial ability: the moderating role of resilience / Los efectos negativos de la amenaza de estereotipo en las habilidades espaciales de las mujeres: el papel moderador de la resiliencia

Abstract

The present research examined the effects of stereotype threat on women’s spatial ability and the moderating role of resilience in China. In two studies (N = 398), female participants were randomly assigned to the stereotype threat condition or the control condition, followed by a mental rotation test. Results showed that female participants in the stereotype threat condition performed worse than those in the control condition on the spatial performance. Furthermore, resilience moderated the relationship between stereotype threat and participants’ spatial performance. For high-resilience participants, stereotype threat did not impact their performance. However, for low-resilience participants, stereotype threat impaired their performance. We may enhance women’s resilience to combat the negative effects of stereotype threat on their spatial ability in the future.