New study about the brain and the "choke"

[adalger]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100925120110.htm

Must. Read. Go read now.

Quotes like this:


In one study, researchers gave standardized tests to black and white students, both before and after President Obama was elected. Black test takers performed worse than white test takers before the election. Immediately after Obama's election, however, blacks' performance improved so much that their scores were nearly equal with whites. When black students can overcome the worries brought on by stereotypes, because they see someone like President Obama who directly counters myths about racial variation in intelligence, their performance improves.



Beilock and her colleagues also have shown that when first-grade girls believe that boys are better than girls at math, they perform more poorly on math tests. One big source of this belief? The girls' female teachers. It turns out that elementary school teachers are often highly anxious about their own math abilities, and this anxiety is modeled from teacher to student. When the teachers serve as positive role models in math, their male and female students perform equally well.


This is why affirmative action makes sense. I have never understood before literally right fucking now that it could possibly have a rational basis. But this is clear, direct, incontrovertible evidence that the lack of women and minorities in high places is causing the ones who make it to have brains that sabotage themselves. Also, that simply shoving enough bodies that have traditionally been discriminated against into high enough places will have long-term positive impact on the generations to follow if we shut up and don't sabotage them.

Umm ... you listening, choir? *sigh* But still, you should go read that article, and keep it bookmarked to use as evidence. It rocks.

Comments

[hebinekohime]

It seems to me that the point of affirmative action is to make it so that one day, we don't need affirmative action.