Effects of gender stereotype threat on motor performance, cognitive anxiety, and gaze behavior: highlighting the role of context

The concept of gender stereotype is a well-established area of research in sports and social psychology. It has been suggested that the effect of negative gender stereotypes on motor performance may not be the same in two different cultures with varying levels of stereotype beliefs, however, no research explored this suggestion. The primary objective was to investigate the impact of negative gender stereotypes on motor performance. Two experiments, Experiment 1 (Exp. 1) conducted in Iran, a country with relatively strong stereotypical beliefs, and Experiment 2 (Exp. 2) conducted in the Czech Republic, a country with relatively less pronounced stereotypical beliefs, involved participants engaging in dart-throwing. In both experiments, motor performance and cognitive anxiety were assessed, while gaze behavior was additionally measured in Exp. 2 to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the impact of gender stereotypes on motor performance. The results of Exp. 1 showed that Iranian women in the stereotype condition exhibited lower dart-throwing performance and higher levels of cognitive anxiety, as compared with the neutral condition. Conversely, Exp. 2 demonstrated that among Czech women, there were no significant differences in dart-throwing performance, cognitive anxiety, or gaze behavior between the conditions. These findings were discussed within the cognitive and socio-cultural framework.