Stereotype Fit Effects for Golf Putting Nonexperts

Research has connected stereotype threat and regulatory fit by showing improved performance for individuals with negative stereotypes when they focused on minimizing potential losses. In the current study, non-Black participants, who were non-experts at golf putting, were told that a golf-putting task was diagnostic of natural athletic ability (i.e., negative stereotype) or sports intelligence (i.e., positive stereotype). Participants tried to maximize earned points or minimize lost points assigned after every putt, which was calculated based on the distance to a target. We demonstrate better performance for participants experiencing a fit between their global task stereotype and the task goal, and argue that regulatory fit allows for increased attention on the strategies beneficial for task performance. Interestingly, we find that performance of individuals high in working memory capacity suffers greatly when those individuals experience a regulatory mismatch.