Putting the "affirm" into affirmative action: preferential selection and academic performance.
Two studies explored the relation between academic performance and preferential selection. In Study 1, female participants were led to believe that they had been selected to be leaders in a team problem-solving task because of their gender, because of their gender and ability, or at random. Results showed that women who believed they had been selected because of their gender performed significantly worse on a subsequent problem-solving test than women who believed they had been selected at random and women who believed they were selected because of both their gender and their ability. In Study 2, students' suspicion of having benefited from race-based preferences in college admissions was negatively related to their grade point average (GPA). Furthermore, this suspicion partially mediated the GPA gap between academically stigmatized (Black and Latino) and nonstigmatized (Caucasian and Asian) students.
Brown
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Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, USA. rpbrown@ou.edu
Charnsangavej
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Keough
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Newman
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Rentfrow
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D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011287:Prejudice; D011340:Problem Solving; D012649:Self Concept; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013781:Texas; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology