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Solo Status and Self-Construal: Being Distinctive Influences Racial Self-
Construal and Performance Apprehension in African American Women
Denise Sekaquaptewa, Andrew Waldman, and Mischa Thompson
University of Michigan
A preliminary study and main experiment tested the hypothesis that racial solo status (being the only
member of one’s race in a group) increases racial self-construal among African Americans. The
preliminary study showed that African American men and women reported greater collectivist (i.e.,
group-based) over individualist self-construal under solo compared to nonsolo status, whereas Whites did
not. The main experiment showed that the increased collectivism among African American solo women
appears to be strongly reflected in racial identity becoming a salient aspect of self-construal. African
American participants were also more likely than Whites to perceive that their anticipated performance
would be generalized to their race, to feel like representatives of their race, and to show greater
performance apprehension (indirectly evidenced by increased self-handicapping) when in racial solo
status. The implications of solo status for African Americans in evaluative situations (such as academic
testing sessions) are discussed.
Keywords: solo status, self-construal, African Americans, racial minorities, stereotype threat, tokenism,
performance
Racial minority group members who are one of few or the only
person of their race in a group often feel accountable to and
representative of their race (Pollak & Niemann, 1998). This sug-
gests that such individuals may come to enhance their collective
self-construal, or the degree to which one’s sense of self is tied to
social group memberships (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Singelis,
1994). In this article we examine the potential of solo status to
influence one’s representation of the self. These experiments test
the idea that solo status (being the only member of one’s social
category present in a group) differentially influences how majority
and minority group members view the self; moreover, this research
assesses the implications of racial self-construal on how individ-
uals perceive their performance and the implications of their
behavior in an intergroup context.
When individuals of a minority group are underrepresented in a
given setting, they are likely to experience solo status (Thompson &
Sekaquaptewa, 2002). For example, the only woman in an engineer-
ing course or the lone African American in an all-White law firm may
both be considered solos. Being different from the rest of one’s
colleagues or classmates in terms of race or gender is often a negative
experience, especially for members of socially disadvantaged groups,
such as women and racial minorities (Inzlicht & Ben-Zeev, 2000;
Niemann & Dovidio, 1998; Pollak & Niemann, 1998; Sekaquaptewa
& Thompson, 2002, 2003). Field studies indicate that solo business-
women feel that they are overly scrutinized, negatively stereotyped,
and judged more harshly than their male peers (Kanter, 1977),
whereas men report less negative experiences as male solos in female-
dominated work settings (Heikes, 1991; Ott, 1989; Yoder & Sinnett,
1985). African American employees tend to receive lower job per-
formance ratings than Whites, unless they are in overwhelmingly
African American work environments (Sackett, Dubois, & Noe,
1991). In a study of university faculty, racial minorities who were the
sole representatives of their race in their departments reported lower
job satisfaction than nonsolo professors (Niemann & Dovidio, 1998).
The negative effects of solo status on minority groups have been
demonstrated within laboratory contexts as well. Women antici-
pating gender solo status during an upcoming group task reported
lower expectations for their performance, greater expectations of
being gender stereotyped, and expressed the desire to change the
gender composition of their group more than men (Cohen & Swim,
1995; Stangor, Carr, & Kiang, 1998). African American students
on predominantly White campuses reported feeling highly repre-
sentative of their race, and that their actions were generalized to
their race (Pollak & Niemann, 1998). This race representativeness
was increased by being the only member of their race in the
experimental testing session for African American but not White
students.
In light of the negativity experienced by disadvantaged group
solos, it is not surprising that their test performance is impaired by
solo status. Women underperform in otherwise all-male groups,
and African Americans underperform in otherwise all-White
groups, compared to when they are in same-gender or same-race
groups (Inzlicht & Ben-Zeev, 2000; Schmader & Johns, 2003;
Sekaquaptewa & Thompson, 2002, 2003). Solo status appears to
highlight social categorizations and thus increases the relevance of
Denise Sekaquaptewa, Andrew Waldman, and Mischa Thompson, De-
partment of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Andrew Waldman is now at Deloitte Consulting LLP, New York City,
NY, and Mischa Thompson is now with the United States Senate Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Washington, DC.
This research was supported in part by National Science Foundation
grant 91833 awarded to the first author. The preliminary experiment was
conducted as part of an honors thesis submitted by the second author.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Denise
Sekaquaptewa, Department of Psychology, 530 Church Street, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043. E-mail: dsekaqua@umich.edu
Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association
2007, Vol. 13, No. 4, 321–327 1099-9809/07/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1099-9809.13.4.321
321
stereotypes. Much research in stereotype threat has demonstrated
that test performance is impaired when stereotyped individuals are
concerned about being evaluated in terms of stereotypes about
their group (Steele, Spencer, & Aronson, 2002). Solo status may
be understood as a process that is distinct from but related to
stereotype threat because these situations both increase concern
about stereotyping and diminish performance, but do so via dif-
ferent mediating mechanisms. For example, in one study women
took a math test while experiencing either solo status (i.e., being
the only woman in the group) or stereotype threat (i.e., believing
a poor performance would appear stereotype confirming, regard-
less of the gender composition of the group). Experiencing solo
status lowered women’s math performance expectancies, which in
turn predicted poor math test scores, whereas lowered performance
expectancies were not reported by women experiencing stereotype
threat (Sekaquaptewa & Thompson, 2003).
Solo Status and Self-Construal
Racial minority group members in predominantly White con-
texts report feeling like race representatives, that they are account-
able to other members of their race, and that they are responsible
for helping same race peers succeed (Pollak & Niemann, 1998).
Therefore, it appears that solo status may lead racial minorities to
perceive a more interdependent or collectivist sense of self because
the social category that makes them distinctive becomes a more
important component of their self-definition.
The way that people construe the self can differ by cultural
ideologies (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Triandis, 1989). People
from cultures that support individualism, for example, Western
cultures, tend to define themselves in terms of personal identities
with a focus on the individual’s unique characteristics and traits
(“I am tall; I am funny; I am a good cook”). Individuals from
collectivistic cultures, including many Asian and Latin American
countries, tend to define themselves in terms of group member-
ships and relationships with others (“I am Korean; I am a team
member; I am part of a family”). Although large differences in
self-construal emerge between cultures, variations in individualism
and collectivism exist within cultures. For example, within the
United States people from Southern states tend to be more collec-
tivistic than those from New York or California (Vandello &
Cohen, 1999). In addition, self-construals vary among different
social groups within the United States, as African Americans and
women report greater collectivism than Whites and men (Cross &
Madson, 1997; McCombs, 1985). Recent research has indicated
that individualistic and collectivistic views of the self can be
primed by exposure to “I” or “we”-relevant stimuli, for example,
by circling pronouns in an essay written in first person singular
(“I”) or collective (“we”) (Brewer & Gardner, 1998). Thus, it
appears that although self-construal is largely determined by cul-
ture; levels of individualism or collectivism can also be influenced
by other environmental or social factors.
If solo status makes social categorizations more salient, then
solo status may serve as an environmental factor that modifies
individualistic or collectivistic self-views. People who differ from
the rest of their immediate group in terms of gender or race may
see themselves more in terms of the salient social identity than in
terms of personal identity. This may be particularly likely in those
who tend to construe the self in terms of group memberships, that
is, minority group members, than those who less frequently think
of themselves in terms of group memberships, that is, majority
group members (Cross & Madson, 1997; McCombs, 1985). This
proposal is supported by research showing that the concept of
“we” versus “I” is highly accessible among women under condi-
tions of gender stereotype threat (Marx, Stapel, & Muller, 2005).
Therefore, when placed in the position of solo status, African
Americans may come to think more about their collective self. Being
African American becomes a greater part of their self-definition, and
they may come to believe that their actions, including good or poor
performance will reflect upon their entire race. Whites, on the other
hand, may not experience this heightened sense of collectivism under
solo status. As such, whereas White solos may perceive that a poor
performance would reflect poorly on themselves, African American
solos may perceive that a poor performance would reflect poorly not
only on themselves but on their racial group as well. Thus, the
implications of failure would be much greater for African American
solos than for White solos. This suggests that the solo status underper-
formance effect may be caused by increased collectivism and race
representativeness among racial minority group solos that derails their
ensuing performance.
Preliminary Study
In a preliminary examination of these ideas (Waldman, 2004),
141 African American and White male and female undergraduates
participated in a laboratory experiment in which they were randomly
assigned to experience either solo or nonsolo status and completed
assessments of individualist/collectivist self-construal. As a cover
story, participants were told that in the experiment the task perfor-
mance of groups whose members knew something about each other
before they begin the group task would be compared to groups
whose members met each other only at the initial commencement
of the task. Each participant was told that he or she was randomly
assigned to the condition where each group member has the
opportunity to learn about the other members before the beginning
of the task. To accomplish this, all group members were to ex-
change photographs and short biographical forms, ostensibly so
the group members would know something of each other prior to
the group task.
Participants were actually shown previously photographed re-
search confederates and prewritten biographical forms said to have
been completed by the “other group members.” The race of the
other group members created solo and nonsolo status conditions.
Specifically, for White participants, solo status was created by
showing the participant photos and biographical forms depicting
three African American confederates; for African American par-
ticipants, solo status was created by showing the participant photos
and biographical forms depicting three White confederates. Non-
solo status was created by showing participants photos that formed
a racially balanced group of one fellow racial in-group member
and two racial out-group members.
Participants then studied information that they were told was
required for the upcoming group task, and afterward completed the
Individualism-Collectivism scale (Hui, 1988), to assess self-
construal. This scale included 16 statements about collectivism and
16 about individualism (e.g., “I respect the majority’s wishes in
groups of which I am a member” and “I enjoy being unique and
different from others,” respectively). Participants also rated how
322
SEKAQUAPTEWA, WALDMAN, AND THOMPSON
much their upcoming performance, in particular a poor perfor-
mance, would reflect on their racial group (e.g., “If I don’t do well,
it will be viewed as stereotypic of my race”).
Mean responses to the individualism items were subtracted from
mean responses to the collectivism items of the Individualism/
Collectivism scale, forming a Collectivism-Individualism difference
score. Results of an analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the difference
scores showed that the predicted 2-way interaction emerged between
solo status and participant race, F(1, 133) ⫽ 4.10, p ⬍ .05, such that
African Americans reported greater collectivist over individualist
self-construal as solos than nonsolos whereas Whites’ difference
scores did not differ by solo status. Participants’ ratings of their belief
that their individual performance would reflect on their race were
averaged to form a “race-reflection” score. Race-reflection scores
tended to show the same pattern found regarding self-construal, that
is, the perception that one’s performance would reflect on one’s racial
group was increased by solo status only for African American, not
White participants, F(1, 133) ⫽ 2.76, p ⬍ .10 (see Table 1).
This preliminary study provided initial evidence that when African
Americans are the only members of their race in an otherwise all-
White group, their social identity becomes a more central part of their
self-construal. Social group memberships and relations become more
important in their self-definition as a result of their racial distinctive-
ness. Moreover, only African Americans perceived that their actions
would be generalized to other members of their race more when they
were the only members of their race in the testing group. Although
this finding suggests that the collective self-construal noted among
African American solos is likely based at least in part on racial
identity, this cannot be conclusively determined. If changes in self-
construal are proposed as an explanation for the underperformance of
African Americans who are highly distinctive in terms of race, it
becomes important to show that their enhanced collectivism is based
on race (as opposed to other social identities) becoming a larger
component of self-definition. Therefore, our main experiment in-
cluded a measure of racial identity to assess collectivist self-construal
based on race; specifically, the centrality subscale of the Multidimen-
sional Inventory of Black Identity (Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley, &
Chavous, 1998) was used. This subscale assesses the degree to which
race is central to the identity of Black Americans. As such, it may
serve as an indicator of the degree to which collectivist identity is
influenced by race becoming a more important part of one’s sense of
self.
The preliminary finding that African Americans in solo status
perceived that their performance would reflect on other African
Americans supports the proposal that the implications of a poor
performance are perceived as weightier for African American than
White solos. If solo status increases concerns among African Amer-
icans about representing one’s race and increases the perceived sig-
nificance of one’s performance for African Americans as a group,
performance apprehension may be increased for African American
solos (Spencer, Steele, & Quinn, 1999). Although previous research
suggests that general anxiety does not contribute to the underperfor-
mance of African American solos (Sekaquaptewa & Thompson,
2002), anxiety specifically tied to performance may play a larger role,
particularly when subtle or indirect assessments of performance
anxiety are used. For example, research on self-handicapping
suggests that claiming external influences on one’s performance,
such as an uncomfortable testing room, can serve as an indicator
that one fears performing poorly, as a possible failure need not
then be attributed to lack of ability in one’s self or one’s group
(Rhodewalt, 1994; Rhodewalt, Morf, Hazlett, & Fairfield, 1991).
As such, in the main experiment, performance apprehension was
indirectly assessed using a subtle measure of self-handicapping.
Method
Participants and Design
Participants were 163 White and African American female
undergraduates who participated in exchange for psychology
course credit or were recruited from the general university student
population and compensated $10 for their participation (analyses
revealed no significant differences on the dependent variables
between students participating for credit vs. payment). Participants
were randomly assigned to solo/nonsolo conditions in a 2 (partic-
ipant race: African American vs. White) ⫻ 2 (solo vs. nonsolo
status) experimental design. Seven participants reported suspicion
about the experimental procedure and/or correctly guessed the
experimental hypothesis and were excluded from the sample,
leaving a final sample of 156 participants (121 White and 35
African American
1
).
Procedure and Materials
Participants arrived individually at the lab and were greeted by
an African American or White experimenter. After being seated in
individual cubicles, participants were given instruction sheets and
also listened to tape-recorded instructions via headphones. The
audiotaped voice was provided by either an African American or
White narrator, such that the race of the narrator was kept consis-
tent with the race of the experimenter. The instructions informed
participants that they would complete a series of preliminary
questionnaires and learn a section of information needed to com-
1
The proportion of White and African American participants reflects the
percentages of African Americans and Whites in the psychology subject
pool population during the semester in which this experiment was con-
ducted. All analyses reported here were also replicated using randomly
chosen subsets of White participants equal to the number of African
American participants, for example, t(65) ⫽ 5.89, p ⬍ .001, r ⫽ .59 for a
contrast analysis of the racial identity measure. This suggests that unequal
numbers of African American and White participants did not influence our
reported findings.
Table 1
Mean Collectivism-Individualism Difference Scores and Race-
Reflection Scores by Participant Race and Solo Status
Condition, Preliminary Study
Non-solo
condition
Solo
condition
White a. Collect-ind diff. score .12 (.51) .07 (.49)
b. Race-reflection score 2.24 (.66) 2.24 (.68)
African American a. Collect-ind diff. score .04 (.55) .28 (.52)
b. Race-reflection score 2.61 (.99) 3.26 (1.40)
Note. Standard deviations are presented in parentheses. Positive self-
construal difference scores reflect greater collectivist over individualist
self-construal.
323
SOLO STATUS AND SELF-CONSTRUAL
plete a group task with the other participants in their session.
Moreover, it was explained that the research concerned the effec-
tiveness of using computer communication versus face-to-face
interaction in learning information. The participant was told that
she would be communicating with other group members first
through a computer network that would display her responses to
the other participants, then later in a face-to-face interaction in
order to bolster her perception that other participants were actually
present in the other cubicles.
As in the preliminary study, the participants were led to believe
that others were in attendance, using the photograph and biograph-
ical form procedure. Specifically, the experimenter took a head-
and-shoulders Polaroid photo of the participant, and placed the
participant’s photo and biographical form in a plastic sleeve con-
taining photos and biographical forms ostensibly of three other
group members (actually previously photographed research con-
federates and prewritten biographical forms were used). The race
of the “other group members” created solo and nonsolo status
conditions following a procedure developed in the preliminary
study. For White participants, solo status was created by showing
the participant photos and biographical forms depicting three Af-
rican American confederates; for African American participants,
solo status was created by showing the participant photos and
biographical forms depicting three White confederates. Nonsolo
status was created by showing participants one own-race and two
other-race confederates (thus forming a racially balanced group of
two African Americans and two Whites). The race of the experi-
menter matched the race of the participant in the nonsolo condi-
tions, not the solo conditions, such that nonsolo participants ex-
perienced own-race representation, and solo participants did not, in
the experimental setting. Confederate photographs depicted indi-
viduals of the same gender as the participant and experimenter.
Participants were given three minutes to review their group mem-
bers, learning of their solo or nonsolo status, and then the exper-
imenter retrieved it to “show to the other group members.” The
experimenter returned momentarily, explained that everyone had
now seen the photo grid, then casually placed it face-up in a tray
marked “Experiment Materials” in the participant’s cubicle, and
continued with the experimental procedure. This allowed partici-
pants to keep the photo grid in view as a constant reminder of their
solo or nonsolo status.
Participants were then allowed five minutes to study informa-
tion that they were told was beneficial for their upcoming group
task. The information was designed to be race-stereotype neutral in
order to isolate the effect of solo status from stereotype threat
effects (Sekaquaptewa & Thompson, 2003) and included items
such as “The best knot for pulling heavy objects is a timber hitch.”
The experimenter then explained that the computer interaction
would begin by having each person introduce him/herself to the
other group members using the computer. The computer program
presumably allowed participants to exchange messages with the
other group members. In actuality, the responses of the “other
group members” were programmed to appear on the participant’s
monitor in a time-appropriate manner. The participant believed
other group members were entering responses and that the other
group members could view her responses as well. The computer
program asked group members to give their first name and list
their hobbies/interests for the rest of the group.
After the computer exchange, the participant completed a ques-
tionnaire packet containing the race centrality, race-reflection, and
performance apprehension measures. Race centrality was indicated
by participants’ level of agreement with four statements: “My
racial/ethnic group is an important reflection of who I am;” “In
general, belonging to my racial/ethnic group is an important part of
my self-image;” “Overall, my racial/ethnic group has very little to
do with how I feel about myself;” “My racial/ethnic group is
unimportant to my sense of what kind of person I am” (the last two
reverse scored). Participants rated their agreement with these state-
ments using an 11-point scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree)
to 11 (strongly agree).
In addition, participants rated how much their upcoming per-
formance, in particular a poor performance, would reflect on their
racial group. This scale was used to obtain participants’ perception
that their performance would reflect on their race (“race-
reflection”). Four items were used: “Others might generalize my
performance on the task to my race as a whole;” “If I don’t do well,
it will be viewed as stereotypic of my race;” “If I don’t do well, it
will reflect negatively on other people like me who may do this
later;” and “My performance will reflect only on me, not other
members of my social group (gender or race)” (reverse scored).
Participants rated how much these thoughts occurred to them using
a 6-point scale, ranging from 1 (this did not occur to me at all)to
6(this occurred to me quite a bit).
Performance apprehension was assessed using an indirect mea-
sure based on self-handicapping, allowing participants to claim
that the room temperature was uncomfortable. Items in this section
of the questionnaire stated that environmental factors such as poor
lighting and distracting sounds could be a significant impairment
to one’s performance. Then participants were asked to rate how
comfortable the room temperature was on a scale from 1 (very
comfortable)to11(very uncomfortable) (the testing room was
kept at a consistent and comfortable level for all sessions). Higher
scores indicated greater performance apprehension, evidenced by
claiming an environmental impediment to performance.
After completing the questionnaire packet and a final computer
exchange, participants completed the race-representativeness mea-
sure. Four items were used: “During this study, I felt like I had to
represent my racial group;” “During this study I felt that I was
viewed as a member of my racial group before I was seen as an
individual;” “During this study I felt responsible for helping other
members of my racial group succeed;” and “My race is very
important to me right now.” Participants indicated their agreement
with these statements using a 6-point scale anchored by 1 (strongly
disagree)to6(strongly agree). The experiment was then termi-
nated and each participant was probed for suspicion and debriefed.
Results
Race Centrality
Participants’ answers to the four questions measuring race cen-
trality were averaged to form one overall score. Race centrality
scores ranged from 1.00 to 11.00, M ⫽ 5.53, SD ⫽ 2.30. Higher
scores indicated greater race centrality (as an indicator of greater
collectivist self-construal based on race). It was predicted that
overall, African American women would report greater race cen-
trality than White women and that solo status would further elevate
324
SEKAQUAPTEWA, WALDMAN, AND THOMPSON
race centrality among African American but not White women.
Because a specific pattern was predicted to emerge in this data
(reflecting a main effect of race and a significant influence of solo
status only for African American women), a contrast analysis was
conducted as recommended by Furr and Rosenthal (2003). Fol-
lowing their procedure, our prediction was tested using the fol-
lowing contrast weights: White participant/nonsolo condition, ⫺2;
White participant/solo condition, ⫺2; African American partici-
pant/nonsolo condition, 1; African American participant/solo con-
dition, 3. (These contrast weights were also used for analyses of
race-reflection and race-representativeness.) Results confirmed the
prediction, t(152) ⫽ 6.98, p ⬍ .001, r ⫽ .49 (see Table 2a).
Race-Reflection
Participants’ answers to the four questions measuring how much
their performance would reflect on their race were averaged to
form one overall race-reflection score. Race-reflection scores
ranged from 1.00 to 4.75, M ⫽ 1.95, SD ⫽ .91. Higher scores
indicated greater race-reflection. The results of the contrast anal-
ysis confirmed our prediction that race-reflection would be greater
for African American than White women and that race-reflection
would be increased by solo status only for African American
women, t(152) ⫽ 5.22, p ⬍ .001, r ⫽ .39 (see Table 2b).
Race-Representativeness
Due to procedural error, six participants did not complete the
race-representativeness measure. Participants’ answers to the four
questions measuring how much they felt like they were represent-
ing their race were averaged to form one overall race-
representative score. Race-representative scores ranged from 1.00
to 5.50, M ⫽ 2.45, SD ⫽ 1.15. Higher scores indicated feeling
more like a race representative. The results of the contrast analysis
confirmed our prediction that race-representativeness would be
greater for African American than White women and that race-
representativeness would be increased by solo status only for
African American women, t(146) ⫽ 5.19, p ⬍ .001, r ⫽ .39 (see
Table 2c).
Performance Apprehension
Performance apprehension scores ranged from 1.00 to 11.00,
M ⫽ 3.71, SD ⫽ 2.22. Higher scores indicated greater perfor-
mance apprehension evidenced in self-handicapping (claiming the
room temperature was very uncomfortable). The predicted pattern
of results was different for this variable than for race self-
construal, race-reflection, and race-representativeness as self-
handicapping tendencies do not differ by race (Midgley, Arunku-
mar, & Urdan, 1996); as such, a main effect of race was not
predicted. Performance apprehension was predicted to be in-
creased by solo status for African American but not White women.
Thus, the contrast weights used were White participant/nonsolo
condition, ⫺1; White participant/solo condition, ⫺1; African
American participant/nonsolo condition, ⫺1; African American
participant/solo condition, 3. The results of the contrast analysis
confirmed our prediction that performance apprehension would be
increased by solo status only for African American women,
t(152) ⫽ 6.84, p ⬍ .001, r ⫽ .49 (see Table 2d
2
).
Correlations Between Variables
Race centrality scores were positively correlated with race-
reflection, r(156) ⫽ .30, p ⬍ .001, race-representativeness,
r(150) ⫽ .53, p ⬍ .001, and performance apprehension scores,
r(156) ⫽ .21, p ⬍ .05. Race-reflection was positively correlated
with race-representativeness, r(150) ⫽ .64, p ⬍ .001, but not with
performance apprehension, r(156) ⫽ .12, p ⫽ .13. Race-
representativeness was correlated with performance apprehension,
r(150) ⫽ .24, p ⬍ .01.
Discussion
The main experiment provided evidence that the increased col-
lective self-construal evident in African American solos in the
preliminary study is likely due to race becoming a more salient
aspect of the self. African American women reported that race was
more central to their identity under solo than nonsolo status,
whereas race centrality was unchanged by solo status for White
2
Analyses of race self-construal, race-reflection, race-representativeness,
and performance apprehension were also conducted using ANOVA. These
analyses uniformly showed a main effect of race (with the exception of
performance apprehension); the interaction terms did not reach statistical
significance, although post hoc simple effects analyses showed that the scores
of African American women on these variables were significantly increased by
solo status, whereas the scores of White women were not.
Table 2
Mean Race Centrality, Race-Reflection, Race-Representativeness, and Performance Apprehension Scores by Participant Race and
Solo Status Condition, Main Experiment
Participant race Non-solo condition Solo condition
a. Race centrality White 4.98 (2.06) 4.89 (2.02)
African American 7.25 (1.75) 7.82 (2.02)
b. Race-reflection White 1.60 (.60) 1.92 (.89)
African American 2.25 (1.10) 2.73 (.99)
c. Race-representativeness White 2.04 (.87) 2.40 (1.06)
African American 2.66 (1.18) 3.52 (1.32)
d. Performance apprehension White 3.55 (2.21) 3.49 (2.12)
African American 3.83 (2.41) 4.65 (2.33)
Note. Standard deviations are presented in parentheses.
325
SOLO STATUS AND SELF-CONSTRUAL
women. African American women were also more likely to feel
like race representatives, that their performance would reflect on
their race (race-reflection), and showed greater performance ap-
prehension (evidenced in self-handicapping) in solo compared to
nonsolo status. White women did not differ on these variables as
a result of solo/nonsolo status. These results suggest that the
increased collective self-construal among African Americans in
solo status may be due primarily to their racial identity becoming
more salient and more central to their self-definition.
The degree to which race was central to one’s identity (race
centrality) was positively correlated with race representativeness,
race-reflection, and performance apprehension. Therefore, these
results offer insight into the experience of African American
women who are the sole representatives of their race in a group:
being African American becomes more important to the self, and
concerns arise about the implications of their performance not just
for the individual self, but for their racial group as well. To the
extent that the “pressure” of representing one’s race can impede
performance (especially when racial identity is emphasized in a
subtle or incidental manner, such as finding oneself to be the only
African American present; Shih, Ambady, Richeson, Fujita, &
Gray, 2002), increased collective self-construal may potentially
play an important role in the underperformance noted among
disadvantaged group solos. Being in solo status in evaluative
situations (such as an academic testing session) may cause African
Americans to become concerned about the implications of their
performance not only for their individual reputation, but for the
reputation of their racial group as well.
This may potentially help explain previous research showing
that women and racial minorities show debilitated performance
under solo status, whereas men and Whites do not (Sekaquaptewa
& Thompson, 2003; Thompson & Sekaquaptewa, 2002). If mem-
bers of disadvantaged groups, such as racial minorities, perceive
that their racial group membership is a highly important part of
their identity under solo status and members of privileged groups
do not, the implications of a poor performance would be much
weightier for disadvantaged than for privileged group solos. That
is, African American solos, but not White solos, may perform
under the pressure of representing their race as well as themselves,
which may contribute to their debilitated performance.
The potential of race-based self-construal to help explain the
underperformance of racial minorities in solo status is supported
by the increased self-handicapping observed in African American
solo women (Experiment 2). Self-handicapping (i.e., claiming
external factors would be responsible for poor performance) can be
self-protective because a poor performance could be attributed to
the external factor and not one’s ability. In terms of collective
identity, self-handicapping may be perceived as protective of one’s
group, as a group members’ poor performance could be attributed
to external factors (such as the room being uncomfortable), and not
to the ability of members of one’s group.
Methodological Contributions and Limitations
In the preliminary study and main experiment, solo status was
compared to nonsolo status; the nonsolo control group was opera-
tionalized as equal representation of African Americans and
Whites. Specifically, nonsolos were placed in a four-person group
in which there were two racial outgroup members and one other
same-race individual. Previous studies examining racial solo status
in laboratory settings have commonly defined nonsolo status as
being in a group in which every member is the same race as the
participant (see Thompson & Sekaquaptewa, 2002 for a review).
Therefore, the current studies add to previous findings by suggest-
ing that the testing group need not be composed entirely of same
race group members to benefit the performance of racial minority
individuals; performance is benefited simply by balanced racial
representation in the testing group.
3
In terms of practical applica
-
tions, this finding suggests that racial minority group members
may respond positively not only to all same-race settings (e.g., all
Black classrooms), but also to settings in which their race is
perceived to be adequately or fairly represented, that is, when
perceived “critical mass” is achieved (Rogers & Molina, 2006).
Finally, it should be noted that the performance apprehension
measure (rating the room temperature as uncomfortable) was a
novel indicator of self-handicapping that, although based on sim-
ilar operationalizations of this construct, may have multiple inter-
pretations. For example, participants expecting to give a good
performance may experience a rise in body temperature, causing
them to rate the room temperature as “uncomfortable,” similar to
those who seek to “blame” an overly chilly or warm room for a
possible poor performance. Future experiments should include
multiple measures as converging indicators of self-handicapping.
Conclusion
This research indicated that being racially distinctive lead racial
minorities to construe the self in terms of race and to perceive
being seen as a race representative. The results are important for
educators and employers. In addition to the frequency that racial
minorities experience solo status in school and work settings
(Pollak & Niemann, 1998; Sackett et al., 1991), racial minorities
are often directly called upon to speak for, or represent, their entire
race (Niemann & Dovidio, 1998). This research suggests that
making one feel representative of and accountable to their race
may be detrimental to performance-related outcomes for African
Americans, particularly African American women, and moreover,
these processes may occur even without an explicit request to
represent one’s race. Therefore, it is important for teachers and
employers to be aware of these issues, especially in evaluative or
performance contexts.
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