Stereotype-Threatened Women Thrive in Unpredictable (But Not Predictable) Environments

The detrimental effect of stereotype threat has been widely established. To examine its boundary condition, we used a 2 (threat vs. control) × 2 (predictable vs. non-predictable contexts) between-group design and measured women's cognitive in a prevention-focused cognitive task. Threatened women outperformed controls in spatially and temporally unpredictable contexts.