Stereotype Threat

Last week, in my psychology class, I learned about the concept of stereotype threat, which is described by the pressure that a person can feel when he or she could confirm a negative stereotype about his or her group. By group I mean race, gender, sexual orientation, and other categories we identify ourselves as. For example, African-Americans have a common negative stereotype of being involved with crime. This results in many African-American individuals to feel somewhat uncomfortable around the law enforcement because they do not want to confirm any negative assumptions that a police officer can make. Futhermore, women have a negative  stereotype regarding their driving skills. On her driving exam, a women may feel more nervous than a man would because she knows that people would not expect her to drive as well.

I have been thinking about this idea and how stereotype threat can affect grades and standardized testing scores, opportunities for advancement, and motivation to succeed. I have learned that the average IQ scores are the highest for Asian, middle for White and Hispanic, and the lowest for African-American. This trend is very much parallel to the SAT score averages, as well as GPA.

Photo Curtesy of Wikipedia

There are many factors that can influence this trend for students, including living situation, parent income and education, and, the most common reason, student’s expectations for themselves based on what other’s expect from their group. Students may adjust their performance based on the fact that they are aware of what is considered to be normal for them. For example, some Asians may work even harder because they believe that they are expected to achieve at higher standards. Having this knowledge has encouraged me to try even harder to defy this truth. 

As an African-American, I have definitely experienced this stereotype threat academically and socially. In a previous blog post, I mentioned that when I was in elementary school a teacher publicly humiliated me as she asked how many students (all white), in the hallway, liked me. At the time I had no idea how racist and discriminatory she was being, but after that day and many other similar circumstances occurred, I did not put in as much effort in elementary through middle school.

Luckily, I have developed higher standards for myself, and have been nothing but hard-working in my life. Despite what you may think, I still experience this pressure today at Penn State. Because African-Americans have mainly negative stereotypes, I constantly feel like people expect less of me. For example, I have friends that ask me to yell at their boyfriends for them when they're having an issue, assuming that I enjoy yelling and arguing with people. I have also heard other people (assuming that all I listen to is hip-hop and rap) tell me that that type of music only consists of curse words, which is completely stereotypical and not close to correct.

Even though this stereotype threat is real and uncomfortable at times, I believe that it is important to be aware of how teachers, friends, and counselors can affect the standards we set for ourselves. 

After reading this, do any of you have a stereotype threat that has negatively affected you in some way? On the contrary, maybe it has been positive for you?

Get Out!: The Message

This week I want to give a shoutout to Jordan Peele, an american actor, comedian, and filmmaker, who directed and wrote the movie Get Out, which is in theaters now. I saw this movie over spring break and I would like to say that I really enjoyed it. For those of who who have not seen it, I strongly recommend it. 

I do not want to spoil the movie too much, so I will just talk why I particularly enjoyed this horror film and the actual meaning behind the movie. I am sure that many of you can agree with me when I state that in most horror films, the main character, subjected to torment or danger, is curious to find “the noise” they hear outside or do some investigation to get to the bottom of what is happening. Personally, I find this to be idiotic! If I heard a strange noise anywhere, I would immediately try to escape. In this movie, finally, the main character is smart to realize that he needs to get out, hence the title, before he gets killed or kidnapped. 

I also enjoyed this movie because the main character has a high level of intelligence. When I refer to intelligence, I specifically mean when it comes to common sense and survival skills. Most main characters of horror films run away and scream for help; however, this main character fought back. “Yes!” and “Thank God!” are some phrases many viewers and I shouted in the theatre during this action-packed movie. I truly respected the fact that the main character did not let himself get defeated.

Some of you may be wondering: what does this have to do with black reality? Well, to address that, I want to talk about the meaning behind the movie. To keep it simple, this movie does a great job at highlighting a specific subset of white racism that is very much present today. This racism is described by the common admiration of “blackness” rather than black people themselves. This sounds pretty confusing at first, but consider the following example: a white person does not want to befriend black people; yet, s/he hires a black servant because it is generally attractive to have a black servant. This kind of situation used to be a common way that whites would show others that they are wealthy.

In the movie, various white characters made comments about how “black is in style now,” which is a subtle but clear way of demonstrating this. We see this kind of racism happening today when whites state that blacks are more athletically gifted (which seems to not be racist), are better rappers, or even are better at dancing. Despite the fact that these associations seem to be complimentary to blacks, they ultimately represent this idea that we are desired for the characteristics and qualities we offer, rather than who we are as people. As mentioned before, the main character, a black man, was able to use his common sense to detect a peculiarity in the house he was staying in. In addition, he was capable of defending himself and surviving through the torment. The fact that he was able to do these things demonstrates that he is an intelligent, creative man, not just a fast runner. I truly appreciated this movie for addressing this hidden truth that I see and hear all the time, even from my own friends.

I am interested to hear from those of you who have watched the movie, did you like it? Why or why not?

Black Contributions

Did you know that an African-American invented the ice-cream scooper? What about the potato chip? A lot of individuals, including me, underestimate the power, intelligence, and contributions that African-Americans have to made to society.

This fact was especially evident in the recent movie Hidden Figures, which is about three African-American women, referred to as “human computers,” who were a large component to the “machine” that calculated the safe and successful launch of astronaut John Glenn into space. In doing so, these women defied all racial and gender stereotypes in order to follow their dreams. This movie truly opened up my eyes as I learned that African-American efforts were a pivotal component to America’s successful NASA program.

As I was recently inspired and surprised by this, I thought that it would be worthwhile to see in what additional ways “hidden figures” has played a role in other aspects of life. After researching online, I discovered that many of our everyday utilities, foods, services, medical practices, and games have been coined by African-American innovators:

Garrett A Morgan 

Photo Courtesy of FamousBlackInventers.com

An African-American man who earned no more than a sixth grade level of education, Morgan invented both the traffic light and the gas mask. Morgan grew up in a household of former slaves, therefore expecting to not be valued in society. Despite his initial doubts, Morgan had a natural ability to think mechanically, leading to other inventions such as the hair straightener and sewing machine.

Daniel H. Williams

Photo Courtesy of FamousBlackPast.com

On the contrary to Morgan, Williams strived for a higher education that led to several accomplishments within the medical field. Initially a shoemaker’s apprentice and a barber, Williams eventually realized that that wasn’t his passion; rather, medicine was. In fact, he was the first to successfully do open heart surgery!

Lewis Latimer

Photo Courtesy of Biography.com

We all associate the invention of the light bulb with Thomas Edison; however, have you heard of Lewis Latimer? Serving as an assistant to Edison, this is the man who actually perfected the light bulb. Latimer’s father was a freed slave, with the help of Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, as he was able to purchase his freedom and give Latimer more opportunities in life to innovate. 

These types of findings definitely serve as a motivation for me within my future career. I too want to innovate and better our society. A personal role-model for me is Ben Carson, who is a well-known genius in the field of neurosurgery. 

Ben Carson

Photo Courtesy of Biography.com

Ben Carson was the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins at the head. What I find amazing about Carson is that he initially grew up in an environment in which he was set up for failure. Despite this, he ended up bettering his grades, getting accepted into college and medical school, and even becoming the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. It is very uncommon to see such a successful outcome from an African-American living in a low-income area with little encouraging to actually succeed. One day, I hope to become someone as remarkable as him!

Tough Adjustment

These past few weeks here, at Penn State, have been pretty rough for me. Everywhere I go, the conversation, among minority groups, about the discomfort and isolationism on this campus is brought up. This has included Asians, Hispanics, African-Americans, and members of the LGBTQ community. 

Just yesterday, I walked into the Paul Robeson Cultural Center (PRCC) for the first time. For those of you who don’t know, this is the center, in the HUB, right next to the flight of stairs that lead you down to the Student Bookstore. It’s a very warm, welcoming place, so I would definitely walk in and try to socialize with the various minority groups on campus. 

I made my way over to the PRCC because I have recently been feeling as if I do not have diversity within my friend groups, compared to what I have been used to my whole life. Coming from Wyncote, PA, I have always seen people of many colors and backgrounds around me; at Penn State, however, that is not the case. Yesterday, I learned some alarming facts: 80% of the African-American students here end up transferring and dropping out, African-American professors are retiring and taking other jobs elsewhere, and over the last 10 years, the percentage of African American students went from 3% to 5%, even after the government mandated Penn State to recruit more African American students. 

http://sites.psu.edu/andrewspasports/

Hearing this has seriously been making me doubt my enrollment here. I know many of you love Penn State, and that is usually the case with most students. I can definitely see why, as this is a wonderful school that offers so many opportunities. As a freshman, I have already been participating in research, promoted to a Crew Leader at my job, and applied to 5 different internships. I came here because I was offered to be in my major right away, the Schreyer Honors College, and was automatically involved with other clubs and activities like Women in Engineering. The only aspect that I did not like about the school, since the beginning, was that only 3% of the university, or 1200 students, are African American.

So what does that feel like? Just imagine, hypothetically, that you go to a HBCU, or a predominately black college. Now, obviously, you would sometimes feel isolated and miss being around those who share your culture, music interests, and social activities. Think about it: most people feel more comfortable around those who look like them. So of course I wish there were more African-Americans and Hispanics at this university.

I’m not going to lie to you guys and tell you that I haven’t thought about transferring from here. The question is: which is more important, comfort or opportunity? That’s what it comes down to. However, I aim to be optimistic. I am reaching out to various cultural centers and organizations so that I can network and socialize with all types of people. I am hoping that getting more involved with student organizations will facilitate my adjustment here more. 

The feeling of being on the “outside” is very common at a large school like Penn State. I know that some of you guys may feel isolated or lonely in some ways as well, whether it relates to race, or maybe even hobbies and interests. I’d like to know how you guys feel about the lack of diversity at Penn State, as well as personal struggles you go through at the university.