How Environments Can Threaten Academic Performance, Self-Knowledge, and Sense of Belonging

Although individuals belonging to stigmatized groups now occupy positions in schools, employment settings, and legislative bodies that wereMichael Inzlicht University of Torontoonce reserved for White men, research continues to paint a discouraging portrait of underrepresentation for these individuals. Women, for example, still comprise only 38% of the faculty in American universities, 16% of the corporate officers in America’s largest companies, and 13% of senators in the 107th U.S. Congress (Business and Professional Women/USA, 2003). Observations about people of color show a similar pattern of underrepresentation. Clearly, these individuals are immersed in social milieus compelling them to count their social identities and the stereotypes associated with them (W. I. McGuire, C. V. McGuire, Child, & Fujioka, 1978). Being outnumbered, though, is not the only way environments activate social identities and stereotypes. Hearing about the latest reality TV show with 20 beautiful women chasing after a rich bachelor, watching a commercial showing a woman getting excited about a kitchen cleaner, or even taking a class with a White instructor are all ways the environment can conspire to make us think about our social identities.