Ian is intelligent but Leshaun is lazy: Antecedents and consequences of attributional stereotypes in the classroom

One explanation for the widening achievement gap in America and throughout Europe between ethnic minorities/immigrants, and Whites is the influence of cultural stereotypes on attributions made by both educators and students. This paper explores some factors that increase the likelihood that educators will consciously or unconsciously rely on stereotypes to disambiguate attributional judgments of students. Specifically, the fundamental drive to make attributions in educational settings combine with a norm and pressure for internality judgments in achievement- related domains. These pressures place an extra burden on educators to look for internal causes for student achievement. When that pressure is combined with cognitive overload, motivational barriers, status and hierarchy disparities, and students’ more salient group membership, stereotypes emerge as likely candidates for attributions. The psychological and motivational consequences of attributional stereotypes are discussed in terms of their effects on both educators and students as a function of the distinct attributional patterns implied by stereotypes.