The Good And Bad Of Stereotype Threats: Understanding Its Effects On Negative Thinking And Learning Performance In Gamified Tutoring

According to the literature, negative thoughts are a potential mediator of learning performance deficits under stereotype threats. However, contrary to expectations, through a quasi-experimental study conducted with students from secondary schools in the states of Alagoas and Sergipe in Brazil, we observed in a gamified tutoring system that negative thoughts were less common in a threat condition compared to a neutral condition (without stereotypes). To understand the causes behind this phenomenon, we carried out a qualitative study with 20 students. Results indicated that gender stereotypes on the color, rankings, avatars, and badges affected the challenge-skill balance perception, which led female participants to find the learning activities difficult and underperform. However, we observed that stereotype threat in male and female students can make them more focused, reducing their negative thinking. These findings highlight the need of creating adaptive computational mechanisms in gamified systems that tailored game elements to promote not only student engagement and performance, but also, at the same time, to promote gender equity. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.