# The Effect of Sterotype Threat in Police Encounters on Behaviorial and Affective Outcomes

> **NIH NIH F31** · SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $35,414

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Black and Hispanic individuals experience disproportionate levels of police contact1 and it has been
hypothesized that stereotype threat—the fear of confirming negative stereotypes about one’s group—
negatively influences police-minority interactions2-4. It is well documented that experiencing stereotype threat
has negative behavioral, affective, cognitive, and health consequences5—possibly accounting for disparities in
physical/mental health outcomes among racial/ethnic minorities6. Thus, the broad aim of this study is to
examine the role stereotype threat may play in racial/ethnic minority group interactions with police
officers. Prior research suggests that stereotype threat acts as an acute stressors and leads to dysregulation
of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis7,8, leading to anxiety9 or aggression10. Social information
processing theory adds to this picture by indicating stressful social situations (e.g., stereotype threat) result in
aggression or negative affectivity (i.e., anxiety or depression) due to dysfunction in social cognition. One
previous study has examined stereotype threat in a legal context3; however, no studies have linked stereotype
threat in a legal setting with downstream effects on negative affect and aggressive behavior. Further, no
studies have examined the theorized biological and social cognitive mechanisms driving these effects. This
research proposal addresses these gaps by (a) examining whether the relation between stereotype threat
induction in a legal context and aggressive behavior/negative affective states is mediated by cortisol and
testosterone levels, (b) examining whether the previously documented relation between stereotype threat
induction and aggressive behavior/negative affective states is mediated by dysfunction in social cognition,
and (c) examining whether race/ethnicity act as a moderator of stereotype threat effect. This proposal
utilizes a biopsychosocial model of psychopathology that reflects the Research Domain Criteria’s
(RDoC) framework of integrating multiple levels of analysis (i.e., neurobiological, behavioral, social-
cognitive). Specifically, it reflects the mission of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to transform the
understanding of mental illness by identifying neural mechanisms in specific domains of mental function.
Reflecting these missions and frameworks, this study aims to elucidate how cognitive (i.e., social
cognition) and biological (i.e., cortisol and testosterone levels) processes mediate stress (i.e.,
stereotype threat) processes to confer risk for mental disorders, spanning multiple levels of analysis
(e.g., self-report and behavioral data) to uncover fundamental mechanisms (e.g., biological, cognitive)
of complex social behavior in diverse populations. Finally, this award will aid in the training of a young
researcher seeking to understand the mechanisms associated with negative outcomes of stereotype threat in
minority y...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9914828
- **Project number:** 5F31MH117854-02
- **Recipient organization:** SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Anna Abate
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $35,414
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-03 → 2020-08-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9914828

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9914828, The Effect of Sterotype Threat in Police Encounters on Behaviorial and Affective Outcomes (5F31MH117854-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9914828. Licensed CC0.

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