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Journal of Language and Social Psychology
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Second Language Competence in the Italian-Speaking Population of Alto Adige/Südtirol

Evidence for Linguistic Stereotype Threat

Maria-Paola Paladino

University of Trento, Italy, mariapaola.paladino{at}unitn.it

Luciana Poddesu

University of Trento, Italy

Manuel Rauzi

University of Trento, Italy

Jeroen Vaes

University of Padova, Italy

Mara Cadinu

University of Padova, Italy

Doris Forer

University of Trento, Italy

Stereotype threat theory suggests that a negative stereotype about a social group can undermine the performance of group members in a stereotype-relevant domain. The present research examines this in the domain of second language (L2) competence. Two studies were conducted to test the effects of stereotype threat on L2 performance in a group of Italian-speaking people living in Alto Adige/Südtirol (AA/ST), a bilingual region of Italy. Participants were members of the Italian-speaking community who are generally not very proficient in L2 (i.e., German). When reminded of the negative stereotype, participants who highly identified with the domain (i.e., German language; Study 1) and those who believed that their linguistic group was in a disadvantaged position in AA/ST (Study 2) underperformed in a German language test. These findings are discussed in relation with people's mastery of L2 in bilingual contexts and their consequences for the study of stereotype threat.

Key Words: stereotype threat • second language competence • in-group image

This version was published on September 1, 2009

Journal of Language and Social Psychology, Vol. 28, No. 3, 222-243 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0261927X09335333
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