Some 80 women of various hair colors were tested on their mental capacity to work quickly and precisely in a series of psychometric tests. Before sitting the tests, half the participants had to read "dumb blonde" jokes, such as:
"Why do blondes open yogurt pots while still at the supermarket? -- Because it says 'Open Here' on the lid."
"No blonde woman believes she is stupid," said Jens Foerster a social psychologist from the International University Bremen in northern Germany on Wednesday.
"But after exposure to negative social-stereotypes about them, the fair-haired participants performed significantly more slowly in the tests."
While it is unfortunate that people are creating studies that test the negative consequences of “dumb blonde” jokes, it is interesting to see that the perpetuation of a stereotype reinforces the stereotype itself.
I think this would go for anybody, any time. Expose yourself to a significant amount of negative stimuli about yourself and you will perform slightly worse on a test.
Way to go science guys. We now know blonde jokes effect blondes. Still no cure for cancer, though . . .
5
rac1977
United Kingdom
October 2003
JUL 15, 2004 06:51 AM
are we talking natural or bleached blondes though?
Christopher
Portland, OR
November 2002
JUL 15, 2004 05:00 AM