刻板印象威胁对城市出生流动儿童认知表现的积极效应及机制

The Facilitating Effect of Stereotype Threat on Cognitive Performance and its Mechanism:A Study among Migrant Children Born In Cities

本研究通过两个子研究考察刻板印象威胁对城市出生流动儿童认知任务表现的影响及其机制。研究1考察刻板印象威对城市出生流动儿童认知任务表现的影响。研究2考察专注与自尊在刻板印象威胁影响认知任务表现中的作用。结果发现,刻板印象威胁正向预测认知任务表现,而自尊调节专注在其中的中介效应:刻板印象威胁通过提升专注促进低自尊儿童认知任务的表现;专注的中介作用在高自尊儿童中不显著。

Previous research has focused on the negative effects of stereotype threat, but more and more studies have found that stereotype threat has also brought positive effects. With the development of society, a new special group has emerged among the migrant children-the Migrant Children Born in Cities. They are born and raised in cities with much higher city identity. Whether they are influenced by stereotype threat because of the status of migrant children bothers us. This study aimed to explore the effects and the influencing mechanism of stereotype threat on this new group. From a positive perspective, we hypothesized that stereotype threat would have a positive effect on them and promote their cognitive task performance. Based on the arousal theory of stereotype threat, the present study investigated the mediating effect of attentiveness on the relationship between stereotype threat and cognitive task performance, and the moderation of the self-esteem by impulsivity.In Study 1, at first we manipulated the level of stereotype threat(threat vs. non-threat). Subjects were asked to read a text and then complete the cognitive task test under the priming situation. The independent t-test showed that the cognitive task test score of the threat group was significantly higher than that of the non-threat group(t=-2.29, p<.05). The results indicated that stereotype threat positively predicted the performance of Migrant Children Born in Cities.Attentiveness and self-esteem were further included in Study 2. Before priming the situation, subjects were asked to complete the Self-esteem Scale, then read the text to prime the situation of stereotype threat(the same as Study 1), report their level of attentiveness(from 1 to 5), and complete the cognitive task test. We analyzed the moderated mediating effects of the hypothetical model in SPSS macro PROCESS. The results of moderated mediating effect test showed that the interaction between stereotype and self-esteem(t=1.82, p<.05) and the interaction between self-esteem and attentiveness(t=-3.45, p<.001) were significant. The simple effect analysis further indicated that the mediating effect of attentiveness was significantly moderated by self-esteem when it was in low level. For individuals with low self-esteem, stereotype threat affects cognitive task performance through attentiveness(standardized indirect effect of the attentiveness on stereotype threat=-.62;standardized indirect effect of the cognitive task performance on attentiveness=3.18;Bootstrap 95%CI[-2.68,-.02]);for high self-esteem individuals, the mediating effect of attentiveness was not significant. Meanwhile, self-esteem was an important protective factor for them against the stereotype threat.In summary, this study reveals the characteristics of this new group-Migrant Children Born in Cities and enriches the existing research in the field of stereotype threat. The current study provides a new perspective for the research of the migrant children. The findings highlight the importance of positive qualities like self-esteem which can protect them against threat.