‘You play like a Woman!’ Effects of gender stereotype threat on Women's performance in physical and sport activities: A meta-analysis

Objectives The purpose of this quantitative review was to provide an estimation of the effect of stereotype threat on women's performance in sport. Design This review employed a meta-analytic technique. Method a meta-analysis with random effects model was performed on 24 effects. Publication bias was tested through funnel plots and Egger's regression test. Results Findings show a symmetric distribution of effects, making it possible to conclude that no file-drawer problem affected the collected sample of effects. Aggregating the results of the reviewed studies, a medium effect of stereotype threat manipulation on women's sport performances emerged (d = 0.33). Collected studies were coded for stereotypicality of threatened exercise. The effect of stereotype threat was significantly higher for sports activities perceived as masculine. Conclusions This meta-analysis reveals that gender stereotype affects the sport activities of women and that this is particularly true for sports typically considered suited to males.