The Effects of Anticipated Solo Status on Racial Minorities in Stereotype Relevant Domains

Abstract

Individuals experience solo status when they are the only member of their social category (e.g. race) in a group. In this study we observed the effects of anticipated race solo status on stereotyping concerns, feelings of similarity, and expected performance. Seventy nine racial minority students were shown a promotional video of an upcoming social science conference. Each participant was randomly assigned to either a solo status condition (anticipating being the only racial minority at the conference) or a non solo status condition (anticipating the presence of other racial minorities at the conference). The results suggest that racial minorities have more stereotyping concerns and feel less similar to the conference attendees depicted in the video when in solo status than when not in solo status.