From Social Identity to Cognitive Vulnerability: Exploring the Impact of Stereotype Threat on Episodic Memory Across Different Social Categories

This study investigates the effect of stereotype threat on episodic memory among university students from three social categories (General, OBC, and SC/ST). Stereotype threat, defined as the fear of confirming negative stereotypes, was hypothesized to differentially affect memory performance across these groups. A total of 226 participants were randomly recruited and assigned to either a threat or non-threat condition, with those in the threat condition exposed to caste-related negative stereotypes. The sample included 75 General category participants, 71 OBC participants, and 80 SC/ST participants. An episodic memory task assessed their performance, and descriptive statistics along with a 3×2 ANOVA design were used for analysis. Results showed that General category students made fewer memory errors and were less affected by stereotype threat. OBC students performed better in the absence of threat, while SC/ST students were most susceptible, exhibiting increased memory errors under threat. These findings highlight the varied effects of stereotype threat across social categories, emphasizing the need for interventions to mitigate its negative impact on cognitive performance and academic achievement.