Stereotypes of achievement striving among early adolescents

We conducted two studies to examine the influence of achievement-related cultural stereotypes among early adolescents. In Study 1 male and female African–American junior high school students (N = 62) read hypothetical descriptions of students who displayed high or low levels of achievement striving and school engagement. Their task was to select one photograph that they believed matched each hypothetical description from a set of photos of unknown junior high school students of diverse ethnicities and both genders. We replicated our procedures in Study 2 with a more ethnically diverse sample of African–American, Latino, and Anglo junior high school students (N = 197). Results indicated that all adolescents most frequently selected photos of ethnic minority males for scenarios of academic disengagement, consistent with cultural stereotypes of these young men. Photos of females across all ethnicities were selected most frequently for scenarios of achievement strivings. Findings are discussed in terms of the need for greater support for minority males in school settings and the potential impact of school programs on the attitudes and behaviors of students.