African Americans and high blood pressure: The role of stereotype threat

We examined the effect of stereotype threat on blood pressure reactivity. C ompared with European Americans, and African Americans under little or no s tereotype threat, African Americans under stereotype threat exhibited large r increases in mean arterial blood pressure during an academic test, and pe rformed more poorly on difficult test items. We discuss the significance of these findings for understanding the incidence of hypertension among Afric an Americans.