Emma overheard the driver education instructor rant and rave about how the girls in Emma's group were the worst drivers he'd ever had the misfortune to teach in his 30 years of teaching high school students how to drive. When it was Emma's turn to practice her driving skills with the instructor, she performed worse than usual, forgetting to use turn signals, turning the wheel the wrong way when backing up, and running over two plastic cones when attempting to parallel park. What is the MOST likely explanation for Emma's poor performance behind the wheel?
A)Emma is relying on the wrong heuristics in her attempts to learn how to drive.
B)Emma is low in bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
C)Emma's driving skills have deteriorated because of the influence of the prototype threat.
D)Emma's driving skills have deteriorated because of the influence of stereotype threat.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Emma's poor performance on the road may be due to stereotype threat - the idea that people perform worse when they are made aware of negative stereotypes associated with their group. Emma may have internalized the instructor's negative comments about girls' driving abilities and felt anxious or worried about confirming the stereotype, leading to decreased performance. This would be an example of stereotype threat impacting Emma's ability to learn and improve her driving skills.

Emma Overheard the Driver Education Instructor Rant and Rave About