Friedman and his team of researchers were surprised to find a real “Obama Effect” that transcended jubilation or excitement.
“We were hopeful to see if [Obama] had an impact beyond just general inspiration,” Friedman told Diverse. “If you’re a kid who is about to take the SAT test, you might want to pull your book about Barack Obama off the table and make very clear in the mind of that kid the examples of someone who is a brilliant student, a high achiever.”
A social impediment known as the “stereotype threat effect,” contributes to the poor performance of some African Americans on standardized tests, Friedman said in a video promoting the study.
“African Americans perceive that there are stereotypes about their academic achievement. If they take a test where they believe that the [outcome] is going to be used to indicate whether [all] Blacks are generally smart or not, there is an increase in anxiety and distraction and they perform less well,” said Friedman, noting that counter role models, like Obama, can help people overcome the stereotype threat effect.
Obama doesn’t alleviate anxiety, added Friedman.
During periods when Obama’s popularity ran high, Black test-takers still worried about reinforcing negative stereotypes, he said. “What Obama did was inspire them to overcome.”
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