Current Event 1

Negative labeling

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Everyone knows negative labels are a bad thing. Psychologists also wonder how negative labeling undermine people 's ability to succeed. No one knows about negative labels as much as members of groups in which certain negative stereotypes have developed. For example, African Americans know that they are widely believed to have lower intellectual potential. And women seen as less able to study mathematics and exact sciences. But I 'm not sure if they realize how sustainable these stereotypes are.

"Fail yourself"

The research, conducted by Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson, proves that even by marking a tick on your gender and race in the application or questionnaire, you can reinvigorate stereotypes in your mind and decrease your test results. Let 's say you have a test on a subject in which due to the strong believes in stereotypes related to your gender or race. If during or before test, someone will carry out something what reminds you of your gender or race, then it will almost surely lead to decrease in your test results. Many other studies also show that blacks are equal to whites and women to men, but only if the stereotypes don’t show up. Only by placing in the audience where the math test takes place, more men than women, and the indicators of the latter immediately falls.

Therefore, the revival of the stereotype causes various distracting thoughts in the heads and secret fears that the stereotype will be confirmed, and this is related to all minorities and groups such us African Americans, Arab, Muslims, LGBTQ, etc. Often people do not realize this.

 Two Mindsets

According to Dweck, “In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort.”

Two Mindsets

Most often this happens to individuals with a fixed mindset. When people think categorically, stereotypes master them. Negative patterns say: "You and your group have been and will always be worse," but only people who takes it for granted will respond to such inculcation.

People with fixed mindset, both positive and negative labels can cause confusion in their heads. When someone assigns you a positive label, you begin to be afraid to lose it and when a negative label, you begin to be afraid that you deserve it.

The growth mindset removes stereotypes of their "sting" and gives strength to resist them. Such people do not believe in "inferiority by definition."

Growth mindset allows people to achieve what they aspire to, even finding themselves in a hostile environment.

In addition to the fact that stereotypes deprive people from the opportunity to show their abilities, they also cause them other damage: they make them believe that they are not in their places. Many members of minorities quit colleges, many women refuse to study mathematics and exact sciences simply because they feel like they don 't belong here.

Prejudice is a public problem with deep roots, I just want to say that the growth mindset helps people to see in prejudice just someone 's opinion – the best way is to resist them by maintaining self-confidence and fully realizing their potential.

Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotypes threar and intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 797-811.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.