#3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

Social Psychology Quarterly 2007, Vol. 70, No. 4, 384–404 Becoming American: Stereotype Threat Effects in Afro-Caribbean Immigrant Groups* KAY DEAUX Graduate Center, City University of New York NIDA BIKMEN Denison University ALWYN GILKES Medgar Evers College, City University of New York ANA VENTUNEAC YVANNE JOSEPH Graduate Center, City University of New York YASSER PAYNE University of Delaware CLAUDE STEELE Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences

Educational and occupational data suggest that second-generation West Indian immigrants have less favorable outcomes than their first-generation counterparts, who are typically shown to outperform comparison groups of African Americans. In two studies, we explore the social psychological process of stereotype threat as it differentially affects the performance of first- and second-generation West Indian students. An initial questionnaire study of 270 West Indian students provided data on perceived favorability of African American and West Indian stereotypes, ethnic identification, and perceptions of discrimination. An experimental study of stereotype threat showed a significant interaction between generation and stereotype threat condition: first- and second- generation West Indian students performed equally in neutral conditions, but differed significantly when stereotype threat was present. While first- generation students increased their performance in the threat condition, second-generation students showed the performance decrements characteristic of African American students. Effects due to the race of the experimenter were also found, suggesting the importance of context in testing situations. Overall, the findings argue for the relevance of psychological processes in understanding broader demographic patterns of immigration and change.

lack immigration to the United States of the 2000 census, foreign-born blacks con- has increased markedly since the post- stituted 12% of all first-generation immi- B1965 changes in immigration policy. As grants in the United States and accounted for approximately 6% of the total U.S. black pop- * This research was funded by the Russell Sage ulation (Logan and Deane 2003). Although Foundation. We are also grateful to Jennifer Eberhardt, Ewart Thomas, and Mary Waters for their early discus- there is some immigration from Africa, the sions that contributed to this research. We thank Desiree primary source of black immigration to the Cassar for her assistance in data collection; we also United States is from the Caribbean nations. extend thanks to Taryn Tang, Teceta Thomas Tormala, Shaun Wiley, members of the Identity Research Group Among Afro-Caribbean immigrants, West and the Immigration Research Group at the CUNY Indians (defined as those countries originally Graduate Center, and Joshua Aronson and his lab group at colonized by the British1) have been of partic- New York University for their helpful comments on earli- er versions of this manuscript. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kay Deaux, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 1 We use the term West Indian, consistent with the Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016; [email protected] usage adopted by Foner (2001), to refer to people from 384 #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

BECOMING AMERICAN 385 ular interest to social scientists because of two fared quite well by traditional educational and competing factors. On the one hand, they are occupational markers. Typically these assess- an immigrant group whose first language is ments are made in comparison to native-born English, thus giving them some advantage African Americans. Model (1991, 1995), over other immigrants who must learn a new using census data from 1970, 1980, and 1990, language before having ready access to educa- found that West Indian men and women have tional and occupational opportunities in the higher labor force participation rates than United States. On the other hand, because the native-born African Americans. She also majority of these immigrants are black, they reported that first- generation West Indian enter a country in which their skin color immigrants show higher educational aspira- becomes the basis for discriminatory treat- tions and greater educational attainment than ment. native-born African Americans. Similarly, To the extent that the first of these fac- Kalmijn (1996) found that black immigrants tors—facility with English—is dominant, one were more educated, had higher prestige occu- would predict that West Indian immigrants pations, and earned more than black would do well in educational and occupation- Americans. Although there continues to be al domains, making progress more rapidly some debate as to whether West Indians have than immigrants from non-Anglophone coun- an earnings advantage over native-born tries. On the other hand, to the extent that West African Americans, the employment and Indian immigrants are subject to color-based occupational advantage of first-generation discrimination, they should be impeded rela- West Indians appears to be reliable (Waters tive to white immigrants. Indeed, one might 1999b). expect that being subjected to some of the Whereas first-generation West Indian same discriminatory conditions that confront immigrants systematically outperform native- native-born African Americans, West Indians born African Americans, their advantage is would become similar to these groups in a not as clear in the second generation. Waters et variety of psychological ways. Of particular al. (1998) found that second-generation West interest here is the degree to which West Indian respondents typically report many Indian immigrants are susceptible to the spells of short employment. Additionally, the effects of stereotype threat, in which an aware- educational achievement of second-generation ness of negative group stereotypes about the West Indians often declines from elementary capability of African Americans results in per- school to high school. .It should be noted that formance decrements for members of this this decline from first to second generation is group (Steele 1997; Steele and Aronson 1995; in contrast to the linear process of assimilation Steele, Spencer, and Aronson 2002). that characterized earlier generations of white immigrant groups (Portes 1995). Indeed, con- BACKGROUND AND THEORY temporary analyses of immigrant pathways from first to second generation (often referred Occupational and Educational Outcomes of to as models of segmented assimilation) point West Indian Immigrants to downward assimilation as one possible out- Despite the potential for negative treat- come, most likely to be experienced by groups ment, West Indian immigrants have often who are most subject to societal discrimina- tion (Portes 1995; Portes and Rumbaut 2001). Sociological theories that attempt to English-speaking islands of the Caribbean, including the explain West Indian success focus on factors mainland nations of Belize and Guyana. For our purpos- es, it was important to restrict participation to those for such as: the selectivity effects of immigration whom English was their first language so that first- and (Portes and Rumbaut 1992), the development second-generation participants could be assumed to be of social and community networks (Portes equivalent in English proficiency. The more general term 1995; Tilly 1990), a preference by whites for Afro-Caribbean would include people from countries in which another language, such as French or Spanish, foreign-born blacks (Kasinitz and Rosenberg would typically be the first language. 1996; Waters 1999b), and cultural differences #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

386 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY between West Indians and black Americans whites. In contrast, when ethnicity is not (Reid 1939). Although supportive data are salient, the two groups perform at equivalent available for some of these explanations, more levels (after adjusting for SAT scores). These often these factors have been suggested as experimental data are important in arguing possible causes but not tested empirically. against explanations that rely primarily on More importantly for the present purposes, assumed differences in cultural dispositions. although some of these theories work reason- African Americans and whites can differ in ably well in explaining first-generation pat- their academic performance, but whether they terns, they typically do not speak to possible do or do not in this particular task setting differences between the generations. Would depends on characteristics of the situation to we expect, for example, that immigrants who which they were randomly assigned, not to arrive as early teenagers with their parents inherent differences in their capabilities or to would be any more or less highly selected than the cultural context and social structure that children born in the United States to parents frame their lives. who also chose to come to the United States? In addition to the experimental demon- Or would one predict that first- and second- strations of stereotype threat provided by generation black immigrants would have dif- Steele and his colleagues, Massey and his col- ferent experiences with race discrimination in leagues (Massey et al. 2003; Massey and the United States? What is needed, we argue, Fischer 2005) have shown evidence of the is the introduction of a psychological perspec- phenomenon in a large-scale survey study of tive that can more closely look at the individ- several thousand first-year college students at ual-level processes that may be critical to the 28 selective academic institutions in the immigrant experience. United States. They found that the psycholog- ical state of stereotype threat, conceptualized The Potential Role of Stereotype Threat in their terms as the combined effects of Work on stereotype threat by Steele and disidentification and performance burden, led his colleagues (Aronson et al. 1999; Steele to lower grade point averages for both black 1997; Steele, Spencer, and Aronson 2002) and Latino students. In their calculations, the compellingly shows that when negative difference between maximum and minimum stereotypes about a group’s abilities and levels of the stereotype threat factors that they potential are “in the air,” they can undermine assessed meant a difference of approximately the performance of members of that group. one-third of a point in grade point average of When a stereotype is believed to be relevant to black students in their first year of college a domain of performance, it poses the threat (Massey and Fischer 2005). that the person will be judged or treated in In the present study, we draw from these terms of the stereotype. The impact of that data on the impact of stereotype threat on threat is reduced performance on domain-rel- African Americans to explore the implications evant tasks, an effect that has been consistent- for first- and second-generation black immi- ly demonstrated in scores of studies across grants from English-speaking countries of the groups varying in gender, ethnicity, and social Caribbean. Specifically, we ask whether the class. differences between first- and second-genera- Particularly relevant to the present work tion West Indians suggested by some of the are studies that consider the performance of educational and occupational outcome data African American students (e.g., Steele and might be in part explained by a greater sus- Aronson 1995). Here the data show that when ceptibility to stereotype threat on the part of the negative stereotype of black intellectual the second generation. With more time in the ability is made salient (for example, by char- United States, second- generation black immi- acterizing the test as diagnostic vs. non-diag- grants would have had more exposure to the nostic), African American students perform negative stereotypes about black intellectual more poorly on achievement tasks than do capability and those stereotypes might be #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

BECOMING AMERICAN 387 more likely to be salient when they themselves but also what they believe is the prevalent were engaged in intellectual tasks. stereotype about their own group of West This prediction assumes, of course, that Indian origin. As shown by recent sociological there are distinctive stereotypes about the two work (Sigelman and Tuch 1997; Torres and groups and that evaluations of West Indians Charles 2004), these metastereotypes—beliefs are more favorable than those of African about the stereotypes of others toward one’s Americans. There is some support for this own group—can influence behavior and assumption. In interviews with employers, indeed are a basis for the operation of stereo- Waters (1999a) asked about perceived differ- type threat. ences between foreign-born and American- To the extent that West Indian immigrants born blacks. White employers frequently believe that there is a meaningful distinction reported differences, most typically seeing between their group and the more general West Indians as more ambitious and hard black American group, and in particular a dif- working and African Americans as more trou- ference that would favor their ingroup over the blesome. In a study with diverse college stu- outgroup, we might also anticipate that they dents, Tormala (2005) asked participants to could show enhanced performance under con- list positive and negative stereotypes about ditions of stereotype threat. This stereotype lift “Blacks in the United States” and “Black effect, as documented by Walton and Cohen immigrants to the United States,” as they (2003), refers to a boost in performance thought these would be endorsed by “most shown by members of groups (e.g., whites, people in the United States.” Her respondents males) who are not negatively stereotyped generated significantly more negative than themselves but are aware of the negative positive stereotypes about black Americans; in stereotypes associated with comparison contrast, there was no difference in the fre- groups. Although stereotype lift effects are quency of positive and negative stereotypes typically not as pronounced as stereotype assigned to black immigrants. Qualitatively, threat effects (Walton and Cohen 2003), they her analysis showed that stereotypes of black are more apt to emerge when people believe in immigrants are far less consistent than stereo- the validity of the negative stereotypes. In the types of native-born African Americans. present case, a stereotype lift effect would be (However, the category itself is probably more more likely if West Indians assumed that their diverse in this case, potentially including ethnic group was more favorably regarded immigrants from Africa as well as the than African Americans and wanted to distin- Caribbean.) guish themselves from that group. The existence of differential stereotypes in the culture at large does not, of course, Ethnic Identification in West Indians establish that West Indians themselves are aware of these stereotypes. However, data both Earlier investigators typically assumed from the West Indian workers that Waters that one’s ethnic identification was cotermi- (1999a) interviewed and from the black immi- nous with the categorical definition, that is, if grant participants in the Tormala (2005) study you were born of Italian parents, then your suggest that stereotypes about black ethnic identification was as an Italian. More Americans are both known and endorsed by recently, however, most social psychologists West Indians themselves. Although these stud- have recognized that ethnic identification is a ies give us some basis for our assumption that subjective state as well as, and perhaps more there is an awareness of negative stereotypes importantly than, an objective characterization about black Americans, it will nonetheless be (Ashmore, Deaux, and McLaughlin-Volpe important that we establish the existence of 2004; Deaux 1996, 2006; Waters 1990). Like those perceptions in the particular population other forms of social identification, it is essen- that we are tapping. Further, it is important to tial to consider what people call themselves, a know not only what our participants believe to labeling process that can vary both in the cat- be the stereotype about African Americans, egory that is claimed and the importance of #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

388 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY that category (Deaux 1996, 2006). In the case grants who continue to identify with their of ethnic identification specifically, Waters country of origin, where negative stereotypes (1990) found, through an analysis of census about Blacks are not part of the cultural repre- data as well as interviews with ethnic whites sentations? Within the stereotype threat litera- in the United States, that ethnic identification ture, the role of group identification is not is a personal choice, both in terms of which totally clear. Schmader (2002), focusing on ethnic identity to claim and whether to self- women’s math performance, found that describe in terms of ethnicity at all. Further, women with stronger gender identification Waters discussed the ways in which ethnic showed greater decrements in performance identity can change over the life course, both under stereotype threat conditions than did in its importance and the meanings it holds. women for whom gender identification was In the case of West Indian immigrants, not as strong. With regard to ethnic identifica- Waters (1994, 1999a, 1999b) has also report- tion among African Americans, however, the ed on the variability in ethnic labeling. In data are less consistent (Steele et al. 2002).2 interviews with adolescent West Indian immi- Nonetheless, it seems reasonable to hypothe- grants in New York City, Waters found three size that immigrants who identify as African different patterns of identification. Of her Americans would be more likely to see stereo- sample, 31% identified as West Indian (either types about African Americans as being rele- generally, or with specific reference to their vant to themselves than would immigrants country of origin). Somewhat more of these who continue to identify with their country of adolescents (41%) identified primarily as origin. However, in line with the Steele and African American, having shifted from the Aronson (1995) findings, we would expect to country of origin to the immediate context as find differences in performance only when the a source of identification. A third group, rep- conditions made these stereotypes salient. resenting 27% of her sample and consisting Another potential moderator of stereotype primarily of people who had more recently threat effects in West Indian immigrants is immigrated to the United States, thought of experience with race-based discrimination. themselves in terms of a more generic immi- Would more experience with discrimination grant category, rather than a nationality-linked lead, not only to stronger expectations of and identity. Thus, although the demographic anxiety about being discriminated against, but backgrounds of these youth were quite similar, also greater susceptibility to threats related to their subjective definitions of ethnicity stereotypes of African Americans? Or would showed considerable variation. It is important the prevalence of race as a master status in the to note, however, that the current conditions of United States override any distinctions these three groups of immigrant youth were between generational cohorts? not always equivalent. Residential neighbor- To summarize, numerous sociological and hood and quality of school both variedby demographic studies of West Indian immigra- group, with those who considered themselves tion have concluded that first-generation West African American more likely to be in poorer Indians are likely to succeed in educational neighborhoods and lower-quality schools. and occupational domains at rates greater than The potential for variations in ethnic iden- their native-born African American cohorts. tification between first- and second-genera- tion immigrants seemed to us considerable, even with age held constant, and presented 2 One explanation for some of the inconsistent data important implications for the predicted gen- with regard to ethnic identification among African Americans, as discussed by Steele et al. (2002), may erational effects in performance under stereo- involve differences between simple scalar measures of the type threat. If a West Indian immigrant comes importance of an identity on the one hand, and more qual- to identify primarily as African American, as itative meaning systems associated with an identity (the did 41% of the adolescents in Waters’ (1994) latter of which could include both domain relevance and coping strategies). See Ashmore, Deaux, and sample, then would they be more susceptible McLaughlin-Volpe for a more extensive discussion of the to stereotype threat than would those immi- various dimensions of collective identification. #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

BECOMING AMERICAN 389

Many of the proffered explanations for these Although a primary purpose of the ques- observations come up short, however, when tionnaire study was to identify students to par- faced with evidence of second-generation ticipate in the subsequent experimental ses- decline. Our goal in this research is to explore sion, data collected in the questionnaire were the viability of social psychological explana- important in several ways. First, and perhaps tions for the generational shift that has been most important, questions about perceived observed, and in so doing to highlight the stereotypes of both African Americans and ways in which context and psychological West Indians could be evaluated to determine process interact. whether first- and second- generation West Indians differ in their perceptions of the posi- Hypotheses tivity or negativity of these stereotypes. If sub- sequent experimental results show a resistance Reasoning from the available evidence to stereotype threat effects, it will be impor- and theory, we hypothesized that the differ- tant to know if such resistance is based on a ences between first- and second-generation lack of awareness of the stereotypes, or if it West Indian immigrants are associated, at least reflects knowledge of the stereotypes but a in part, with differential susceptibility to belief that those stereotypes are irrelevant to stereotype threat effects. Specifically, we pre- the self. Second, comparisons of first- and dicted that first-generation West Indian immi- second-generation students in terms of ethnic grants are protected from or insensitive to identification and sensitivity to discrimination stereotype threat, and thus will not show a per- allow us to further characterize the psycholog- formance decrement when stereotypes are ical similarities or differences between the two salient, that is, when a test is described as generations. diagnostic of ability. In contrast, we predicted that second-gen- QUESTIONNAIRE STUDY eration West Indian immigrants will show the Method same pattern of stereotype threat effects typi- cally evidenced in African American respon- Participants. New York City has been a major dents, that is, decrements in performance destination for immigrants from the Caribbean, when a test is labeled diagnostic as opposed to particularly since the 1965 changes in U.S. non-diagnostic. Thus, we predicted a signifi- immigration policy. They are now the largest cant interaction between stereotype threat immigrant group in the city, with approxi- mately half a million first-generation West condition and generation. Potential modera- Indian immigrants living in the city by the late tors of this predicted effect, which might be 1990s (Foner 2005). At the same time, unlike expected to vary between first- and second- some other immigrant destinations such as generation immigrants include: (a) ethnic London, Black immigrants to New York enter identification, (b) metastereotypes of African a community that has a large native Black Americans and West Indians, and (c) expecta- population. In 2000, the black population of tions of race-based discrimination. New York City was approximately 25% of the The study was conducted in two parts. city’s total population of 8 million; 28% of this First, a questionnaire was administered to a proportion was foreign-born (Foner 2005). large sample of West Indian immigrants, both Thus questions of race and ethnicity are exam- first and second generation, all of whom were ined and defined within a multicultural con- students within a large public university sys- text. tem in New York City. Second, a subsample of In this study, a total of 270 West Indian the initial group was contacted to participate students who were currently enrolled at one of in an experimental study in which the condi- the 4-year undergraduate colleges within the tions of stereotype threat were manipulated City University of New York system complet- and performance on an achievement test was ed the initial questionnaire. Students identi- assessed. fied through university records as being of #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

390 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY West Indian heritage were contacted by letters; asked respondents to indicate whether they additionally, the researchers made direct con- considered themselves “definitely West tact with students at three selected colleges Indian,” “more West Indian than African within the system that have a high percentage American,” “equally West Indian and African of enrolled West Indian students. All students American,” “more African American than who agreed to complete the questionnaire West Indian,” and “definitely African were paid $10 for their participation. American,” where 1 indicated the strongest West Indian identification and 5 the strongest Questionnaire. The questionnaire was African American identification. designed to assess a number of concepts perti- Luhtanen and Crocker’s (1992) measure nent to the hypotheses of the study, as well as of collective self-esteem was also included as relevant background material on the partici- an additional measure of ethnic identification. pants. Key concepts in terms of the theoretical We used three of the four subscales from this framework that we are using were stereotype measure: identity (the importance of the group knowledge and ethnic identification. to one’s self concept), private regard (the Additional measures collected to explore pos- favorability that one has toward his or her own sible differences between groups included group), and public regard (the perceived sensitivity to race-based rejection and demo- favorability of others toward one’s group). graphic material, including immigration histo- Each subscale consists of 4 items, to which ry. participants respond on a 7-point scale rang- ing from strongly disagree (1) to strongly Favorability of African American and West agree (7). A group-specific version of the CSE Indian Stereotypes. Perceived favorability of was used, such that each statement was made cultural stereotypes was assessed with two in reference to the ethnic group that the scales, one with African Americans as the tar- respondent had chosen in the open-ended get group and the other with West Indians as question of the Multi-Ethnic Identity measure. the target group (with the order of presenta- tion of these two scales counterbalanced). In Expectations of discrimination. A shortened each case, respondents were asked to rate (on version of the Sensitivity to Race-Based a 6-point scale) the degree to which each of 12 Rejection measure (Mendoza-Denton et adjectives (6 positive and 6 negative) were al.2002) was included in order to assess possi- believed by people in general to be character- ble differences between first- and second-gen- istic of the target group. Positive adjectives eration immigrants in their anxiety and expec- included traits such as hard-working, smart, tation of discrimination. Participants were and friendly; negative adjectives included asked to imagine themselves in each of six sit- poor, lazy, and criminal. Ratings on the nega- uations (e.g., you are in a store and a clerk tive items were reverse coded, and the 12 glances your way). In each case, participants items were summed for an overall positivity are asked to estimate the degree to which they score. would expect that their race/ethnicity would be an issue (e.g. “The clerk might continue to Ethnic identification. Ethnic identification look at me because of my race/ethnicity”) and was assessed in two ways. First, we used how anxious they would be about that situa- Phinney’s Multi-Ethnic Identity measure tion. Separate scores for expectation and anx- (1998), which includes an initial open-ended iety were calculated, each summed over the question of ethnic identification followed by a six situations. 12-item scale. A second measure of ethnic identification was developed to more directly Demographic information A variety of demo- assess relative identification with West Indian graphic questions were included to assess versus African American ethnicity. This mea- immigration history of the respondent and sure consisted of a single 5-point scale that his/her parents, including country of birth, #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

BECOMING AMERICAN 391 date of immigration to the United States, par- sample considered themselves definitely or ents’ occupations and education, and their per- primarily West Indian; 25% rated themselves ceived class standing. Also included in this equally West Indian and African American, section of the questionnaire were inquiries and only 12% regarded themselves as defi- about the degree of contact the respondent had nitely or primarily African American. with their Caribbean origin and their use of cultural media related to those countries. Comparison of First- and Second-Generation Immigrants. Means and standard deviations Results for the two groups are shown in Table 1. Sample CharÏacteristics. Of the total 270 par- Differences between the two generational ticipants, 145 were first-generation immi- groups appeared on a number of measures, the grants (born outside of the United States) and two most interesting for our purposes being 125 were second generation (born in the measures of ethnic identification and per- United States to parents who were born in the ceived stereotypes and evaluations of West West Indies). In this sample, 61% were female Indians and of African Americans. and 39 % were male. The average age of stu- First, with regard to ethnic identification, dents in the sample was 22.3; first-generation first-generation students more strongly identi- students were slightly older on average (M = fied as West Indian than did second-genera- 23.4, SD = 6.6) than were second-generation tion students. This is evident in the significant students (M = 21.0, SD = 3.2), t(266) = 3.76, difference in mean scores on the 5-point iden- p < .001. tification scale, t (260) = 6.35, p < .001, as In terms of the ethnic identification of the well as in a significant correlation between group, the sample was clearly skewed towards generation and ethnic identification, r (262) = identification as West Indian. On the 5-point .37, p < .001. It is important to note, however, scale where 1 = definitely West Indian (WI), that these differences are relative rather than 3 = equally West Indian and African Ameri- absolute. Mean scores on ethnic identification can, and 5 = definitely African American are to the West Indian side of the midpoint for (AA), the mean score of the sample was 2.2 both first-generation (M = 1.8, SD = 1.0) and (SD = 1.1). In percentage terms, 63% of the second-generation (M = 2.6, SD = 1.2) stu-

Table 1. Comparison of First and Second Generation Afro-Caribbean Immigrants

Generation First (n = 145) Second (n = 125) M(SD) M(SD) t-value Ethnic identification 01.80 (1.0) 02.60 (1.2) 6.35** Collective self-esteem: —Identity importance 19.00 (5.1) 19.00 (5.5) 0.06 —Private regard 25.70 (3.7) 25.00 (3.9) 1.66 —Public regard 19.90 (4.7) 17.10 (5.2) 4.52** Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure: —Search 25.60 (5.6) 24.80 (5.3) 1.15 —Belonging 43.80 (6.0) 41.50 (5.9) 3.08** Sensitivity to race-based rejection: 13.40 (7.3) 13.40 (7.1) 0.05 —Race-based anxiety 21.70 (7.0) 22.40 (7.2) 0.75 —Race-based expectations 20.70 (6.7) 20.70 (6.4) 0.04 Probability of returning to live in the 03.40 (1.4) 02.30 (1.4) 6.65** —West Indies at some future date Class-relevant data: —Mother’s educationa 03.15 (1.41) 02.50 (1.20) 3.86** —Father’s educationa 03.09 (1.45) 02.99 (1.31) 0.527 —Perceived class standing 02.32 (1.07) 02.89 (0.97) –4.47** Notes: * p < .05; ** p < .01 a scale from 1 (some graduate work) to 5 (did not complete high school). #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

392 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY dents, indicating that although these second- of African Americans, but did differ signifi- generation students are shifting toward an cantly in their metastereotypes of West incorporation of African American into their Indians, with the first generation having a identity definition, they continue to maintain a more favorable estimate of others’ views. We strong sense of West Indian identification as explored this difference further with a 2 2 well. analysis of variance with generation as a Although first- and second-generation between-subjects factor and ratings of ethnic students differed in their endorsement of spe- groups a within-subjects factor. This compari- cific ethnic labels, the strength of their ethnic son yielded main effects both for ethnic group, identification was for the most part equiva- F (1,247) = 254.7, p < .001, 2 = .51, and for lent. On both the Identity and Private Regard generational status, F (1,247) = 10.8, p < .001, subscales of the collective self-esteem scale, 2 = .04. All students believed that West in which the referent was whatever group label Indians are regarded more favorably than are they chose as self-identifying, first- and sec- African Americans, and first-generation stu- ond-generation students did not differ. That is, dents gave more favorable ratings to both they accorded their ethnic identification groups than did second-generation students. equivalent importance and equally regarded These main effects were qualified by an inter- that identity as positive. The groups also action between generation and ethnicity of the scored similarly on the Search subscale of the target group, F(1,247) = 5.7, p < .02, 2 = .02. Phinney measure. On the belonging subscale Among the second generation, the perceived of the Phinney measure there was a significant advantage of West Indians is less, dropping difference between groups, with first genera- approximately five points. (There is no corre- tion students showing stronger endorsement sponding increase in the perceived favorabili- than second-generation students, t (265) = ty of African Americans, which is essentially 3.27, p < .001. In addition, the groups differed unchanged.) significantly in their scores on the Public Interestingly, first- and second-generation Regard subscale of the collective self-esteem immigrants did not differ from each other on scale, a scale that assesses how one thinks the measure of Sensitivity to Race-based other people regard their group. In this case, Rejection. On both the anxiety and expecta- first-generation students believed people were tion scales of the measure, the two groups more favorable to their group (M = 19.9, SD = expressed equivalent reactions. 4.7) than did second-generation students (M = Comparisons of the two groups on the 17.1, SD = 5.2), t (262) = 4.52, p < .001. various demographic questions showed a few This difference in the perceptions of oth- scattered differences between first- and sec- ers’ evaluations is also reflected in the mea- ond-generation students. The mothers of first- sures of stereotyping, in which we assessed generation students had less education, t (260) the favorability of perceived stereotypes of = 3.94, p < .001, and first-generation students both African Americans and West Indians. As perceived their parents to be lower in socioe- shown in Table 2, first-and second generation conomic standing, t (240) = 4.55, p < .001, students did not differ in their metastereotypes both as compared to the second-generation

Table 2. Favorability of Metastereotypes

Generation First (n = 145) Second (n = 125) M(SD) M(SD) t-value Metastereotypes of: —African Americans 35.3 33.8 1.17 (9.8) (9.6) —West Indians 47.8 42.7 4.13** (9.6) (10.1) Note: * p < .05; ** p < .01 #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

BECOMING AMERICAN 393 students. Firstgeneration students also hypothesized not to see those images as self- believed it more likely that they might return relevant to the same degree that second-gener- to live in the West Indies at some future date ation immigrants do. Because first-generation than did second- generation students, t (263) = immigrants have spent some years in a 6.64, p < .001. Caribbean country, where Blacks are in the Men and women differed only in terms of majority and race discrimination is not preva- perceptions of discrimination. Men were more lent, we assume that they are able to maintain likely to expect race-based rejection than some distance between society’s unfavorable women were (p < .01) and they tended to be views of African Americans and their image more anxious about such rejection (p = .07). of themselves as a different kind of black. There were no other gender differences in any Second-generation immigrants, in contrast, do of the study variables. not have that same experience. Rather, from birth onward, they are often treated by others Discussion as members of the category African American, not distinguishably different from native-born In order to hypothesize stereotype threat African Americans. Thus, we hypothesize that effects, we needed to establish that West second-generation students will show the Indian immigrants have knowledge of the same type of stereotype threat effects that unfavorable image of African Americans and have been previously shown in African that first- and second-generation immigrants American populations. In contrast, we expect do not differ in that regard. The data show that that first-generation immigrants will show no to be the case: both first- and second-genera- performance decrement when stereotype tion West Indians believe that stereotypes of threat conditions are present. African Americans are less positive than As suggested earlier, subjective ethnic stereotypes of West Indians, and the two gen- identification may also influence the degree to erations do not differ in their metastereotype which Afro-Caribbean immigrants are suscep- of African Americans. Thus, the beliefs are “in tible to stereotype threat effects. Comparisons the air,” as Steele (1997) observed, and that air of first- and second-generation immigrants in is the same for both generations of West our questionnaire data establish some impor- Indian immigrants. tant parameters. First, the data show that eth- What does differ between the generations nic identification, as assessed both by the is the metastereotype of West Indians. For sec- identity importance and the private regard ond-generation immigrants, the favorability of subscale of the Collective Self-Esteem scale, this image has decreased–not to the level of is equivalent for the two groups. Thus, what- the African American stereotype, but substan- ever group they are identified with is equally tially below the level endorsed by first-gener- important to their self-definition. However, ation immigrants. This more negative the definition of that group differs significant- metastereotype of West Indians is reflected ly between the two groups, as the measure of also in the public regard measure of collective ethnic identification (a dimension ranging self-esteem. Here we found a significant dif- from “definitely West Indian” to “definitely ference between first- and second-generation African American”) indicates. First-genera- immigrants, such that the latter believed the tion immigrants were significantly stronger in public had a less favorable view of their group their endorsement of a West Indian identity. At than did first-generation students. the same time, it is important to note that the The question to be addressed is whether majority of all the participants placed them- the negative beliefs about African Americans selves toward the West Indian side of the constitute an equivalent threat for first-and scale, showing a more skewed distribution second-generation immigrants. We are than Waters (1994) observed in her high hypothesizing that they do not. First-genera- school sample. The difference between the tion immigrants, although aware of the stereo- two samples could be due to differential selec- types associated with African Americans, are tion based on socioeconomic factors. Waters #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

394 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY (1994) reported that ethnic identity was asso- stereotype, but rather some protection or dis- ciated with socioeconomic status in her sam- tancing from that stereotype. ple, such that the students who identified as The purpose of the experimental study is African American were more likely to be in to test the hypothesis that second-generation poorer neighborhoods with lower quality West Indian immigrants are more susceptible schools. Those students, we can surmise, to stereotype threat than are first-generation would be less likely to enter college than immigrants. In addition, we consider the would students from better school systems extent to which possible moderators, such as and neighborhoods, students who in the ethnic identification, might influence reac- Waters study were more likely to hold on to a tions to stereotype threat. West Indian identity. Thus, our sample of col- An additional factor in the experimental lege students would be biased in favor of those design is the race of the experimenter, a vari- more academically prepared students who are able that has been shown to be influential in more identified with their West Indian her- some previous research (e.g., Danso and Esses itage. 2001; Katz and Greenbaum 1963; Katz, Finally, it is worth noting that despite dif- Roberts, and Robinson 1965). Katz et al. ferences in identification and length of time in (1965), for example, found that the presence the country, the two generations do not differ of a white experimenter caused decrements in in their expectations of and anxiety about pos- the performance of black students when the task was presented as an intelligence test, sible discriminatory experiences. Although while it enhanced performance when the same one might assume that first-generation stu- task was presented as a motor coordination dents had less actual experience with discrim- task. If we assume that the intelligence test ination directed toward them, the approxi- instructions are comparable to stereotype mately 10 years that they had spent in the threat conditions, then we might expect that United States was apparently ample time for decrements would be greater for second-gen- them to expect and be anxious about the pos- eration students when the experimenter was sibility of being a target. These findings reaf- white as opposed to black. Support for this firm the widely-accepted idea that being black prediction also comes from Massey and is a “master status” within the United States Fischer’s (2005) study. Students whose college (Foner 2005), a category used by others that experience included a higher than average commonly ignores possible distinctions number of minority faculty did not report the among people who vary in ethnicity and kind of performance burden that was associat- nationality. ed with lower academic performance. In line Our questionnaire data establish the dif- with these studies, we anticipated a possible ference between first- and second-generation three-way interaction, namely that the predict- immigrants in terms of their ethnic identifica- ed two-way interaction of generation and tion, showing a greater or lesser tendency, stereotype threat condition would be more respectively, to identify as West Indian. likely to occur with white experimenters and Although this covariance is far from perfect, it less likely, or even absent, in the presence of does establish a psychological difference Black experimenters. between the two demographic categories that is consistent with our theoretical position. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY Equally important is the evidence that both Method first- and second-generation immigrants have a clear understanding of the unfavorable To assess the effect of stereotype threat on stereotype that exists in U.S. society with the performance of West Indian immigrants, regard to African Americans. Thus any evi- we conducted an experimental study in which dence that first-generation immigrants are not first- and second-generation students were susceptible to stereotype threat effects would randomly assigned to conditions that would or not be based on a lack of awareness of the would not activate stereotype threat. The goal #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

BECOMING AMERICAN 395 was to determine whether, within this specific were not aware of the generational status of sample, performance would vary as a function the participants in their sessions. of the particular experimental condition. A 2 2 2 design was used, crossing genera- Manipulation of stereotype threat. One exper- tion of student (first vs. second), diagnosticity imenter read the instructions aloud to partici- of the test (diagnostic vs. non-diagnostic of pants, and participants could read along with ability) and race of experimenter (black vs. the same text, printed on the first page of their white). booklet. The manipulation of stereotype threat was contained within these instructions, using Participants a task description that has proved to be effec- tive in establishing different levels of stereo- From the sample of students who com- type threat (cf. Steele and Aronson 1995). In pleted the questionnaire, 75 students (41 the Diagnostic (Stereotype Threat) Condition, women and 34 men) were recruited to partici- the instructions stressed that the test was an pate in the experimental study of stereotype assessment of the student’s verbal abilities and threat. First- and second-generation students limitations. In the Non-diagnostic condition, were recruited in approximately equal num- the test was described as an exercise in test bers (N = 41 and 34, respectively). Because development, evaluating the test itself rather self-ascribed ethnic identification was corre- than individual ability. The assumption made lated with generation, and because the distrib- by Steele and his colleagues, and supported by ution of ethnic identification scores was heav- considerable research, is that this seemingly ily skewed toward identification as West subtle salience of diagnosticity of the test will Indian, it was not possible to select partici- bring the group stereotype to mind, along with pants on the basis of their identification, inde- the threat of confirming that stereotype pendent of generational status. However, we (Steele, Spencer, and Aronson 2002). did attempt to recruit as many students as pos- Participants were then given 25 minutes to sible from that group who identified them- answer as many questions as they could, on a selves as more African American or at least 27-item exam. Items were taken from a GRE equally West Indian and African American to preparation text and were selected to be rea- sonably difficult for the study sample. The balance out the more numerous West Indian average performance was 9.8 out of a possible identified participants. score of 27, thus verifying the anticipated dif- ficulty of the test. Procedures At the end of the allotted time period, the Participants were tested in small rooms at experimenters collected the performance the colleges, in groups ranging in size from material and participants were given a postex- one to six. Typically two experimenters were perimental questionnaire to complete, assess- present at a session, and we kept teams “color ing their views of the test, their performance, consistent”, thus allowing us to systematically and the testing conditions. Participants were consider possible experimenter effects.3 Race then debriefed, providing them a full explana- of experimenter team was randomly assigned tion of the ways in which instructions affect across experimental conditions. Both first- performance and of the normative difficulty and second-generation students were mixed of the test. The participants were asked not to discuss the findings with others at their col- within a typical session, and the experimenters lege until the end of the term.

3 A team of three white (all female) and three black (2 Results male, 1 female) experimenters shared the experimenter role. One of the black experimenters was a West Indian The principal test of our hypothesis is immigrant himself. In order to control for the potential influence of his accent, he assumed a non-speaking role based on a 2 2 2 analysis of variance, when paired with one of the other experimenters. appropriate to the experimental design that we #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

396 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

Table 3. Analysis of Variance of Performance Data (Percentage correct)

F p 2 Generational status 0.31 0.58 0.005 Stereotype threat condition 0.22 0.64 0.003 Experimenter’s race 0.01 0.92 0 Generation Condition 4.59 0.036 0.064 Generation Experimenter 4.09 0.047 0.057 Condition Experimenter 12.55 0.001 0.158 Generation Experimenter Condition 1.21 0.275 0.018 used and consistent with other studies of effects of diagnostic condition, generation, or stereotype threat (e.g., Steele and Aronson experimenter team on the measure of percent- 1995). The three dichotomous categories, age of problems solved correctly. The predict- experimentally manipulated or controlled, ed two-way interaction between generation were generation (first vs. second), diagnostic and diagnostic condition on performance was condition (threat vs. no threat), and race of significant, as shown in Table 3 and in Figure experimenter (black or white), with perfor- 1. mance as the dependent variable. Performance Tests of simple effects within each diag- on the test can be assessed in three different ways: in terms of number attempted, number nostic condition showed that the difference correct, and percentage correct. In the results between first- and second-generation partici- described below, we use percentage correct as pants was not significant when the test was the primary dependent variable, consistent presumed to be non-diagnostic. This lack of a with a number of previous investigators. In difference is theoretically important, as it general, using the simple number correct pro- counters claims that first- and second-genera- duces similar results, while the number of tion immigrants possess intrinsic differences items attempted does not vary by experimen- in motivation, ability, or cultural characteris- tal condition. tics that might account for differential out- comes. Instead, we find that when conditions Tests of Generational Hypotheses are psychologically neutral, there is virtually Analysis of variance results are presented no difference in capability on a difficult acad- in Table 3. This analysis showed no main emic test.

Figure 1. Performance (Percentage Correct) of First- and Second-Generation Students in Diagnostic and Non- Diagnostic Conditions. #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

BECOMING AMERICAN 397

In contrast, the performance of first- and nounced when the experimenters were white. second-generation students differed signifi- This possibility, which would be evidenced in cantly when the instructions stressed the diag- a significant three-way interaction, was not nosticity of the test, t (35) = 1.95, p < .05, one- supported. Race of experimenter did have a tailed.4 It should be noted that changes in the significant influence on performance, howev- performance of both groups contribute to this er, as evidenced by significant two-way inter- significant effect: first-generation students actions between experimenter and diagnostic perform better when diagnosticity is stressed condition ( p < .001), as well as between than they do in more neutral conditions, while experimenter and generation ( p < .05). second-generation students show the antici- With regard to the first of these interac- pated decrement in performance. tions, the pattern of means shows that perfor- To further explore the significant interac- mance in the diagnostic condition is enhanced tion between generation and diagnostic condi- when the experimenter is white (M = 46.2, SD tion, a number of covariate analyses were per- = 17.7 for white experimenters, M = 34.2, SD formed. First, we considered the possible role = 16.7 with black experimenters). In contrast, of length of time in the United States as a fac- performance in the non-diagnostic condition tor. Because second-generation students have is better when the experimenter is black (M = spent more time in the United States, it is like- 43.9, SD = 15.1 for black experimenter, M = ly that they have had greater exposure to its 34.7, SD = 10.2 for white experimenter). norms and culture, including the negative Analysis of the significant interaction stereotypes about African Americans. between generation and experimenter also However, a covariance analysis with time in shows reverse patterns for the black and white the United States had relatively little impact experimenters. First-generation students do on the finding: the covariate itself was not sig- better when the experimenter is white (M = nificant, and its inclusion shifted the signifi- 47.7, SD = 15.7 for white experimenter, M = cance level only slightly to 0.054. We also 38.3, SD = 14.7 for black experimenter). examined the correlation between time in the Second-generation students, in contrast, do United States and the various measures of per- better when the experimenters are black (M = formance within the first generation only (and 44.2, SD = 15.6) than when they are white (M separately for diagnostic and non-diagnostic = 36.5, SD = 14.7). We consider the possible conditions). No significant relationships were meaning of these somewhat unexpected pat- found, suggesting that time in the United terns in the discussion. States, though a frequently-used demographic index, is not a reliable gauge for psychological Ethnic Identification and Stereotype Threat processes that may or may not occur in a given Correlational analyses indicated that gen- interval of time. Additionally, an examination eration and ethnic identification are related, of gender differences showed that men and both in the larger preliminary sample, r (262) women performed equally in both diagnostic = .37, p < .001, as well as in this experimental and non-diagnostic conditions. Thus the dif- subsample, r (73) = .43, p < .001. This rela- ferences between the generations in the two tionship suggested two analytic strategies. experimental conditions appear quite robust. First we used ethnic identification as a covari- ate in the generational analysis. This inclusion Experimenter Effects did not substantially alter the obtained interac- It was anticipated that race of experi- tion between generation and diagnosticity menter might affect performance, such that (nudging the significance level from 0.036 to stereotype threat effects would be more pro- 0.051). Another way to test the influence of eth- nic identification was to use this variable as a 4 A one-tailed test (based on Levene’s test assuming unequal variances) was used, consistent with our direc- factor in the analysis of variance design. tional prediction for the diagnostic condition. Because ethnic identification and generation #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

398 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY covary, and because the sample size was limit- Steele, and Quinn 1999; people who have low ed, it was not possible to factorially vary the socioeconomic status, Croizet and Claire two within a single analysis. Consequently, we 1998). Specifically, when stereotype threat is chose to analyze the data in a second 2 2 present, their performance drops in compari- 2 factorial design, this time substituting ethnic son to the first-generation comparison group identification for generation. As noted earlier, and to their own performance when the test is ethnic identification scores in the sample were non-diagnostic. generally skewed toward identification as When conditions do not make stereotype West Indian. Thus, in this analysis we divided threat salient, first- and second-generation the sample on the basis of stronger or weaker students perform equivalently. This equiva- West Indian identification, such that those lence of first- and second-generation students who responded with a 1 or 2 (definitely or in the non-diagnostic condition is important, mostly West Indian) are contrasted with those as it rules out alternative explanations based who responded with either 3, 4, or 5 (definite- on assumed differences between the two ly African American through an equal groups in terms of competency or general test- endorsement of the two ethnic labels). taking ability. The difference between the Results of this analysis, focusing on the groups is not in their capability to perform on two-way interaction between ethnic identifica- the test (or their academic preparation and tion and diagnostic condition, showed the motivation to perform), but in the specifics of anticipated pattern of means, although the the testing condition that bring other influ- interaction itself did not attain conventional ences to bear. Further, although not testable levels of significance, F (1,65) = 2.50, p = .12. here, the results also give us some reason to Thus, although the pattern that we find is con- question the utility of those explanations of sistent with the hypothesis that students who differences between West Indians and African identified more with African American will be Americans that rely on dispositional factors, more susceptible to the effects of stereotype such as migration selectivity and differential threat, the lack of a sharp demarcation ability or motivation. between the two groups in terms of their eth- First-generation immigrants show a quite nic identification does not allow a strong test different reaction to stereotype threat condi- of the hypothesis. tions. Not only do they not show a decrement, but in fact their performance increases, rela- Discussion tive to the non-threat condition. The seeming immunity of first-generation West Indian Differences between first- and second- immigrants to stereotype threat effects cannot generation West Indian immigrants, suggested be explained either by a lack of awareness of in more macrolevel data such as educational the prevailing images of African Americans, and occupational achievement, clearly find a nor by the absence of experience with race- parallel here at a psychological level. based discrimination. Indeed, despite their rel- Although the difference in the time that first- atively short time in the United States, first- and second-generation students have spent in generation immigrants do not differ in either the United States is only 11.5 years, their per- respect from their second-generation counter- formance under conditions of stereotype parts who were born in the United States. Both threat differs significantly. Both groups are are equally likely to expect discrimination and affected by the instructions, but in opposite to anticipate anxiety in the variety of social directions. Second-generation students show a situations tapped by the measure of Sensitivity pattern of performance that is similar to that to Race-based Discrimination. Both see a dif- reported previously for African American stu- ference in the images that society has of dents (Steele and Aronson 1995; Massey and African Americans in contrast to West Indians. Fischer 2005), as well as for other groups for The difference between the two genera- whom negative stereotypes about their group’s tions may be explained in part by the positivi- abilities exist (e.g., women in math, Spencer, ty of metastereotype of West Indians. First- #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

BECOMING AMERICAN 399 generation students are more positive in their ferences between themselves and African appraisal, believing that others view West Americans (Vickerman 1999; Waters 1999a). Indians more favorably than do the second- Experimental work by Barreto, Ellemers, and generation students (evidenced both in mea- Palacios (2004) also points to the relevance of sures of stereotypes and in the public regard one’s past experience with discrimination. subscale of the Collective Self-esteem Scale). They find that people who have a collective Accordingly, first-generation students appear history of success will view situations in able to turn to a positive image of their group which they are a token as a challenge and per- in the face of diagnostic pressure and to dis- form better. In contrast, those who are histori- tance themselves more effectively from the cally disadvantaged are more likely to experi- negative stereotypes associated with black ence token situations as threatening and to performance in the United States. Recent perform worse. By extension, first-generation work by Gilkes (2005), who interviewed first- immigrants who have lived in a society in generation West Indian immigrants in New which their group was the ruling majority may York City and Toronto, is also consistent with see the diagnostic situation as a challenge, in this analysis, showing that a positive view of contrast to second-generation immigrants one’s group serves as a source of resilience in whose historical basis is the race-based status the context of discriminatory treatment. This hierarchy of the United States. distancing strategy appears to have limited utility for the second generation, however, Ethnic Identification who are more aware of and immersed in the prejudicial views against blacks that persist in Generational effects in performance are the United States. paralleled by differences in ethnic identifica- The first-generation pattern of increased tion. Second-generation West Indian immi- performance in the face of possible threat is grants are significantly less likely to identify also suggestive of the stereotype lift effect that as West Indian. It is important to note, howev- Walton and Cohen (2003) have documented. er, that even second-generation students in this As defined by Walton and Cohen, “stereotype sample were more identified as West Indian lift is the performance boost caused by the than as African American, as indicated by awareness that an outgroup is negatively their mean scores on the bipolar scale. This stereotyped” (2003:456). In a review of previ- skew in the sample makes a strong test of the ous research, they show that people who are ethnic identification and stereotype threat members of non-stereotyped groups (e.g., hypothesis difficult, in that those who might men, whites) are also aware of the stereotypes. be most strongly identified as African When put in a situation that brings those American are not well represented in the sam- stereotyped groups to mind, people in the ple. Nonetheless, the fact that we found a clear more favorable group engage in a process of trend in the predicted direction, in the face of downward comparison that in turn elevates relatively weak differences in ethnic identifi- their sense of self-efficacy. The consequence cation, suggests that the influence of identifi- is a significant increase in performance, as cation is a real phenomenon. compared to a non-threat control condition. It is interesting to compare the patterns of Further, Walton and Cohen (2003) conclude ethnic identification found here with the data that stereotype lift effects are particularly like- of Waters (1994), obtained from adolescents ly when people believe in the validity of the in a similar locality. Waters found roughly negative stereotypes about the other group or equal proportions of students claiming when they endorse the legitimacy of a group- African American versus country of origin based hierarchy. It is possible that some or all identification. In contrast, only 12% of our of these conditions are true for first-genera- students identified as either wholly or mostly tion immigrants. As we have shown, they are African American. One source of the differ- aware of the African American stereotype, and ence may be related to the demographic pat- there is literature to suggest that they see dif- terns that Waters found, wherein adolescents #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

400 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY who were more identified as African tity, distinct in form but equally important to American were also more likely to live in self-definition. This multidimensionality of poorer neighborhoods and to attend lower ethnic identification suggests both caution and quality schools. Thus, it is probable that stu- challenge when conducting research with dents in her sample who identified as African immigrant populations. American are less likely to attend college; consequently, a sample of college students Experimenter Effects (even in this case at a large public university) We had anticipated a possible three-way are likely to show a skewed distribution interaction when race of experimenter was toward the West Indian end of the identifica- included in the analysis, such that the predict- tion dimension.5 ed two-way interaction between generation This study was done with undergraduate and diagnostic condition would be more like- students at a public university in New York ly to occur with white experimenters and less City, a context whose particular features need likely, or even absent, in the presence of black to be kept in mind. Accordingly, we can not experimenters. This three-way interaction did generalize to the population of West Indian not emerge. However, race of experimenter immigrants at large. On the one hand, the clearly influenced the performance of our par- results of Massey and Fischer (2005) show ticipants, as shown in the two significant two- that stereotype threat effects are evident in stu- way interactions between experimenter and dents of color across a broad range of more both diagnostic condition and generation. elite universities (although less pronounced White experimenters elicited better perfor- when representation of minority faculty was mance when the test was diagnostic and when greater). At the same time, the general compo- the participants were first-generation; black sition both of the immediate university setting experimenters elicited better performance and the larger community could well be influ- when the test was non-diagnostic and when ential. Stereotype lift effects might be more the participants were second-generation. common, for example, when there is a viable The finding that second-generation stu- West Indian community with which one can dents do better with a black experimenter is identify. consistent with the Massey and Fischer (2005) Although we talk in a language of con- findings that a context with a higher percent- trasts convenient to experimental design, that age of minority faculty was more favorable for is, a contrast between identification as West black and Latino students. The difference Indian or African American, it is evident to us between first- and second-generation students that ethnic identification in immigrant com- in these different experimenter conditions is munities is resistant to such simple perhaps more easily understood if we consid- dichotomies. Open-ended responses to a ques- er the differing metastereotypes of first- and tion asking for ethnic identification frequently second-generation students. First-generation elicit multiple terms that include references to immigrants believe that their group is regard- both race and ethnicity. Both the labels them- ed more favorably by society in general, which selves and the meanings associated with the we can assume would be defined largely in categories differ among first- and second-gen- terms of the white majority. Accordingly, a eration Afro Caribbean immigrants white experimenter may act as a proxy for that (Butterfield 2004; Foner 2005; Gilkes 2005). larger reference group and lead participants to Butterfield (2004), for example, argues that want to live up to that perceived standard and second-generation West Indian immigrants distinguish themselves from the African typically have both a racial and an ethnic iden- American image that they view as significant- ly less favorable. Second-generation students, 5 We note that ethnic identification as an African in contrast, have a diminished view of the American or West Indian was not correlated with stu- dents’ perceptions of class status within our larger sample metastereotype of West Indians and are at the (r = .11). same time more likely to see themselves as #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

BECOMING AMERICAN 401 defined by the stereotype of African ple, are often burdened with negative stereo- Americans. This shifting identification may types of intellectual capability as well, and lead them to be more comfortable with a black could be subject to the same kind of stereo- experimenter and less comfortable with a type threat effects as we observed here among white experimenter whom they might assume West Indians. In the case of Mexicans, how- is negatively disposed toward them. ever, it is not certain whether first-generation For first-generation students, the white immigrants would be impervious to stereotype experimenter was associated with enhanced threat effects, given the negative stereotypes performance. To the extent that first-genera- that often characterize both Mexican nationals tion students believe that the society at large and Mexican immigrants. Thus, first-genera- (which is predominantly white) has a favor- tion Mexican immigrants might show equal or able view of West Indians, the white experi- even greater stereotype threat effects than menter may serve as a cue for enhanced per- would later generations. In contrast, we might formance. Indeed, the stereotype lift effect think about a group such as Asian immigrants, suggested earlier may be enhanced by the for whom the stereotype of a high-performing presence of a white experimenter, who is more “model minority” is frequently invoked. closely associated with the dominant and Would stereotype lift effects be more evident judging society. in this group when the group stereotype was made salient? These questions speak to the Future Directions complexity of the immigrant experience and the need for careful consideration of specific A key question for future research con- stereotypes and contexts. cerns the possible mediators of the generation- The findings reported here contribute to performance relationship. Although identifi- the burgeoning literature on stereotype threat cation is clearly related to generation, as well effects, adding immigration status to the cate- as to stereotype threat, it alone can not account gories of persons potentially subject to perfor- for the differences between first- and second- mance decrements under threat conditions. generation respondents. As is the case for More importantly, however, the results speak stereotype threat research in general, the to the dynamic relationship between person search for mediating mechanisms continues. and context. West Indian immigrants do not One possibility is that differences in motiva- automatically become subject to stereotype tional states or self-regulatory focus (see threat because they are black; rather they learn Higgins 1997) may be related to the genera- to experience stereotype threat as a result of tional patterns. Keller and Blass (2003) have their socialization into U.S. society where reported that the manipulation of a prevention being categorized as black has negative con- focus facilitates stereotype threat effects, tingencies. Because these connections are whereas manipulating a promotion focus min- learned, one has to allow the possibility that, imizes such effects. Following this logic, it given optimal interventions, they can be over- might be that first-generation West Indians are come as well. more characterized by a promotion focus, in These results also speak to the importance which the emphasis of achievement is on the of understanding social psychological approach to a desired goal. Second-generation processes inherent to the immigration experi- West Indians, in contrast, because of more ence. Sociologists and demographers have experiences with race-based discrimination in generated a wealth of data on the fortunes and the United States, might be more motivated by adaptations of immigrants, including occupa- a prevention strategy, in which achievement is tional status, educational outcomes, and inter- seen as the avoidance of possible negative marriage patterns. Underlying these group- events. level analyses are a wealth of psychological The generality of these findings for other processes that need to be unpacked and artic- immigrant populations is also of considerable ulated. We suggest here that stereotype threat interest. Immigrants from Mexico, for exam- is one of the psychological processes that may #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

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Kay Deaux is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Together with colleagues and students, her work focuses on the social psychological aspects of immigration, as conceptualized in her recent book, To Be an Immigrant (2006). She is the 2007 recipient of the Kurt Lewin Memorial Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

Nida Bikmen received her PhD in Social/Personality Psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is currently a visiting assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. She is interested in how ethnic and national identities shape and are shaped by interethnic conflict and international migration. #3247—Social Psychology Quarterly—VOL. 70 NO. 4—70408-Deaux

404 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY Alwyn Gilkes received his PhD in Social/Personality Psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and is currently Adjunct Professor in the Psychology Department at Medgar Evers College of CUNY. He is the author of The West Indian Diaspora: Experiences in the United States and Canada (2007). His research interests include immigrant acculturation, education- al success and achievement, and resilience.

Ana Ventuneac is a PhD candidate in Social/Personality Psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, completing her dissertation on the role of social stress in sexual risk behaviors. She is Project Manager at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at New York State Psychiatric Hospital.

Yvanne Joseph is a Lecturer and Counselor in the SEEK Program at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York and an advanced doctoral student in the Social/Personality Psychology program at the CUNY Graduate Center. Her research concerns the social and subjective experience of being black, immigrant, and bilingual in the United States.

Yasser A. Payne is Assistant Professor in the Black American Studies Program at the University of Delaware. He received his PhD in Social/Personality Psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and had a National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIH-NIDA) postdoctoral fel- lowship. In his research, he uses participatory action methods to study resiliency with street-life ori- ented black men. He is coauthor of Echoes of Brown: Youth Documenting and Performing the Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education (2004).

Claude M. Steele is the Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California and the Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences at Stanford University. Throughout his career, he has been interested in how people cope with threats to their self-image; his development of the concept of stereotype threat has been particularly important in illuminating the ways in which societal stereotypes have an impact on individual performance.