In a study about identity, female Asian-American college students were asked to take a math test. Before the test, one group was asked questions that primed them to think of themselves as women first (for example, their views about co-ed dorms). The other group was asked questions that primed them to think of themselves as Asian first (what languages they spoke at home, and how many generations of their family had lived in the United States).
The women primed to think of themselves as female performed worse on the test than those primed to think of themselves as Asian. Simply awakening different sides of their identity — and the stereotypes that go with each — actually changed their performance.
[For more of this story, written by Karen Weese, go to https://psmag.com/this-is-your...c0ef82302#.ywiiahey5]
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