Stereotype Threat and Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (8B) Practice Test

In a community clinic, staff members tell volunteers that “people from that housing complex often don’t follow instructions.” During intake, a volunteer speaks more sharply to clients from the complex, gives them shorter explanations, and double-checks their forms more aggressively. Clients respond with less trust, ask fewer questions, and sometimes leave without completing paperwork. The volunteer later reports that these clients “proved” they are noncompliant. Based on the vignette, what outcome is most consistent with a self-fulfilling prophecy?

In a laboratory study, participants are randomly assigned to one of two conditions before completing a difficult logic test. In the “diagnostic ability” condition, the experimenter says the test measures innate reasoning and has shown differences across ethnic groups; in the “problem-solving practice” condition, the experimenter says the test is a set of puzzles for practice and does not measure ability. Participants from a stigmatized ethnic group report more worry about how they will be judged in the diagnostic condition. How would stereotype threat be expected to affect performance in this context?