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Category: Project

Description: Stereotype threat, or the concern that one might be the target of demeaning stereotypes, has been shown to disrupt performance of minorities across a variety of domains. Contrary to most of the gender stereotype literature, Stafford (2018) found that skilled female chess players show a reverse stereotype threat effect when they play against men in tournaments, performing slightly better than would be expected based on their Elo ratings. However, despite its objectivity, the Elo system underestimates the current ability of younger or inexperienced players. To address this inherent confound between sex and age in this sample, we conducted a series of regression analyses using a larger sample from the same dataset analyzed by Stafford (2018), in which 8,189,614 games were played by 182,069 players between January 1998 and August 2015. We followed up a replication analysis with a multiverse analysis in which we include all possible combinations of control variables that correlate strongly with performance, including opponents' age and age difference from their opponents. We also ran a placebo test in which we rebuilt our sample by matching each female player with a male player of a similar age and ranking, and then tested for a 'pseudo stereotype threat effect'. Our analyses reveal the typical gender stereotype threat effect, with women performing worse when they play men than would be expected based on their Elo ratings.