Claude Mason Steele (born January 1, 1946) is a

social psychologist Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field of ...

and emeritus professor at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, where he is the I. James Quillen Endowed Dean, Emeritus at the

Stanford University Graduate School of Education The Stanford University Graduate School of Education (Stanford GSE or GSE) is one of the top education schools in the United States. It offers master's and doctoral programs in more than 25 areas of specialization, along with joint degrees with ...

, and Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, Emeritus. Formerly he was the executive vice chancellor and provost at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. He also served as the 21st provost of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

for two years. Before that, he had been a professor of psychology at various institutions for almost 40 years. He is best known for his work on

stereotype threat Stereotype threat is a situational predicament in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group. It is theorized to be a contributing factor to long-standing Achievement gaps in the Unite ...

and its application to minority student academic performance.Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African-Americans. ‘’Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62’’(1), 26-37. His earlier work dealt with research on the self (like

self-image Self-image is the mental picture, generally of a kind that is quite resistant to change, that depicts not only details that are potentially available to an objective investigation by others (height, weight, hair color, etc.), but also items that ...

and

self-affirmation Self-affirmation theory is a psychological theory that focuses on how individuals adapt to information or experiences that are threatening to their self-concept. Claude Steele originally popularized self-affirmation theory in the late 1980s,Stee ...

)Steele, C. M. (1988). The psychology of self-affirmation: Sustaining the integrity of the self. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), ‘’Advances in Experimental Social Psychology’’ (Vol. 21, pp. 261-302). San Diego, California: Academic Press. as well as the role of self-regulation in

addictive behavior An addictive behavior is a behavior, or a stimulus related to a behavior (e.g., sex or food), that is both reward system, rewarding and reinforcing, and is associated with the development of an addiction. There are two main forms of addiction: su ...

s.Steele, C. M. & Josephs, R. A. (1990). Alcohol myopia: Its prized and dangerous effects. ‘’American Psychologist, 45’’(8): 921-933. In 2010, he released his book, ''Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us'', summarizing years of research on stereotype threat and the underperformance of minority students in

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

.Steele, C. M. (2010). ‘’Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us’’. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Education and early life

Steele was born on January 1, 1946, to parents Ruth (a white social worker) and Shelby (an African-American truck driver) in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Claude recalls his family, including his twin brother Shelby Steele and two other siblings, as being deeply interested in social issues and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. Steele remembers his father taking him and his brother to marches and rallies whenever possible. His father pushed him to achieve security in the context of securing employment, but Claude construed achievement as success in education. He enrolled at

Hiram College Hiram College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Hiram, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 as the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute by Amos Sutton Hayden and other members of the Disciples of Christ Church. The college is nonse ...

in Hiram,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, where he earned a B.A. in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

in 1967. At

, Steele's passion for reading novels led to an interest in how the individual faces the social world. After being fully immersed in the Civil Rights Movement and the issues of racial equality, rights, and the nature of prejudice as a child, Steele formed a desire to study the topics in a scientific manner. He was especially keen to discover their effects on social relationships and quality of life. Steele was inspired by African-American social psychologist Kenneth Clark's TV appearance discussing the psychological implications of the 1964 race riots in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, which led to doing behavioral research. Steele conducted early experimental research at Hiram College in

physiological psychology Physiological psychology is a subdivision of behavioral neuroscience (biological psychology) that studies the neural mechanisms of perception and behavior through direct manipulation of the brains of nonhuman animal subjects in controlled experime ...

(looking at behavioral motives in

Siamese fighting fish The Siamese fighting fish (''Betta splendens''), commonly known as the betta, is a freshwater fish native to Southeast Asia, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is one of 76 species of the genus '' Bet ...

) and social psychology (studying how African-American dialect among kids maintains ethnic/racial identity), where he worked under the mentorship of

, Ralph Cebulla. In graduate school, he studied

social psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...

, earning an M.A. in 1969 and a Ph.D. in 1971 at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, with a minor in statistical psychology. His dissertation work, with faculty adviser Tom Ostrom at

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, focused on attitude measurement and

attitude change Attitude change is when a person or group changes their views, values, or beliefs about a particular topic, issue, or object. This can happen as a result of new information, experiences, or influence from others. Attitudes are associated beliefs ...

Career

After receiving his PhD, Steele got his first job as an assistant professor of psychology for two years at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. He then moved to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

for 14 years and received

tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

in 1985. In 1987, he moved to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he was a professor of psychology for four years. During the last two years, he simultaneously held the position of research scientist at Michigan's Institute for Social Research. In 1991, he moved to

, where he was a professor of psychology for eighteen years, receiving the title of Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences in 1997. At Stanford, he also served as chair of the Department of Psychology (1997–2000), director of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (2002–2005), and director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (2005–2009), among various other positions. In 2009, he left Stanford to become the 21st provost and chief academic officer at

for two years. He was responsible for faculty appointments, tenure recommendations, and overseeing financial planning and budgeting. In 2011, he left Columbia and returned to Stanford, where he served as the I. James Quillen Dean for the

. In March 2014, he became the executive vice chancellor and provost of the

. He stepped down in April 2016 citing family reasons, shortly after a scandal erupted regarding the university's alleged disregard of sexual harassment.

Research

Throughout his academic career, his work fell into three main domains of research under the broad subject area of

, and

s. Although separate and distinct, the three lines of research are linked by their shared focus on self-evaluation and how people cope with threats to their

and self-identities.

Addictive behaviors

Although many people primarily associate Steele with his significant contributions in the development of stereotype threat research, the 14 years of his post-

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

academic career that he spent at the

were focused on

s and the

behind

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

use and addiction. He was interested in the role of alcohol and drug use in self-regulation processes and social behavior. Among his major findings was that alcohol myopia, the cognitive impairment by alcohol use, reduces

cognitive dissonance In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is described as a mental phenomenon in which people unknowingly hold fundamentally conflicting cognitions. Being confronted by situations that challenge this dissonance may ultimately result in some ...

, leads to more extreme social responses, increases helping behavior, reduces

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

when it is combined with a distracting activity, and enhances important self-evaluations.

Self-affirmation

While studying the effects of

use on social behavior, Steele was formulating a theory about the effects of

. Developed in the 1980s, self-affirmational processes referred to the ability to reduce threats to

by stepping back and affirming a value that is important to

self-concept In the psychology of self, one's self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity, self-perspective or self-structure) is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question ''"Who am I? ...

. Steele often uses the example of smokers who are told that

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...

will lead to significant negative health outcomes. The perception that they may be evaluated negatively by their willingness to engage in negative behaviors threatens their self-image. However, affirming a value in a domain completely unrelated to

but important to one's self-concept: joining a valued cause, or accomplishing more at work, will counter the negative effects of the self-image threat and re-establish self-integrity. Self-affirmation theory was originally formulated as an alternative motivational explanation for

theory that threats to the self led to a change in attitudes rather than psychologically inconsistent ideas, and self-affirmational strategies can reduce dissonance as effectively as

. His research on self-affirmation and its effects demonstrated the power of self-affirmation to reduce biased attitudes, lead to positive health behaviors, and even improve the academic performance of minority students.

Stereotype threat

Steele is best known for his work on stereotype threat and its application to explain real-world problems such as the underperformance of female students in mathematics and science classes as well as Black students in academic contexts. Steele first began to explore the issues surrounding

at the

, when his membership on a university committee called for him to tackle the problem of academic underachievement of minority students at the university. He discovered that the dropout rate for Black students was much higher than for their white peers even though they were good students and had received excellent

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

scores. That led him to form a hypothesis involving stereotype threat. Stereotype threat refers to the threat felt in particular situations in which

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

s relevant to one's

collective identity Collective identity or group identity is a shared sense of belonging to a group. This concept appears within a few social science fields. National identity is a simple example, though myriad groups exist which share a sense of identity. Like ma ...

exist, and the mere knowledge of the stereotypes can be distracting enough to negatively affect performance in a domain related to the stereotype. In 2024, Steele's theory has been debunked. Steele has demonstrated the far-reaching implications of stereotype threat by showing that it is more likely to undermine the performance of individuals highly invested in the domain being threatened and that stereotype threat can even lead to Black people having significant negative health outcomes. The theories of stereotype threat can be applied for better understanding group differences in performance not only in intellectual situations but also in athletics. Steele has spearheaded many successful interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of stereotype threat, including how to provide critical feedback effectively to a student under the effects of stereotype threat, inspired by the motivating style of feedback of his graduate school adviser, Ostrom, and how teacher practices can foster a feeling of identity safety. That would improve performance outcomes by elementary school minority students.Steele, D. M., Steele, C. M., Markus, H. R., Lewis, A. E., Green, F., & Davies, P. G. (2008). How identity safety improves student achievement. Manuscript submitted for publication.

''Whistling Vivaldi''

In 2010, Steele published his first book, ''Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us'', as part of the ''Issues of Our Time'' series of books exploring timely issues from the voices of modern intellectuals. ''Whistling Vivaldi'' focuses on the phenomenon of stereotype threat as it explains the trend of minority underperformance in higher education. In his book, Steele discusses how identity contingencies or the cues in an environment that signal particular stereotypes attached to an aspect of one's identity can have a drastic negative effect on a person's functioning and how the effects can explain racial and gender performance gaps in

academic performance Academic achievement or academic performance is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals. Completion of educational benchmarks such as secondary school diplomas and bachelor's deg ...

. Steele also offers a host of strategies for reducing stereotype threat and enhancing minority student performance; he hopes that society's knowledge of stereotype threat will lead to understanding and accepting diverse groups' differences.

Controversy

In July 2015, Steele was tasked by the University of California, Berkeley, with managing the investigation of alleged sexual harassment of an employee by

Sujit Choudhry Sujit Choudhry is a lawyer, legal scholar, and expert in comparative constitutional law. Choudhry was on the faculty at the University of Toronto and New York University School of Law before being named dean University of California, Berkeley ...

, who was at that time Dean of its School of Law. Steele had been accused of being lenient with Choudhry by allowing him to retain his position as Dean. Some attributed the perceived leniency to a purported exchange for a Law School faculty appointment. University officials denied the allegations. Despite this allegation, Steele had no involvement in the Law School case until after a faculty vote on his appointment to the school had been completed (44 in favor; 0 opposed). Faculty appointments are not made by Deans, but by a review and vote of the faculty themselves — precluding the kind of trading of appointments for favors implied in the allegation. In light of these and other facts, university officials dismissed the allegations. Steele also stated his regrets about not preemptively removing leadership to create a less threatening environment for the complainant.

Personal life

Steele lives in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Claude and his late wife Dorothy had been known to collaborate on projects dedicated to

prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...

American society The society of the United States is based on Western culture, and has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as American English, dialect, Music of the ...

and minority student achievement. His twin brother, Shelby Steele, is a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

writer and a senior fellow at the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...

Teaching and administrative appointments

* 1971-1973 Assistant Professor of Psychology,

* 1973-1987 Assistant Professor to associate professor of psychology,

* 1987-1991 Professor of Psychology,

* 1989-1991 Research Scientist, Institute for Social Research,

* 1991-2009 Professor of Psychology,

* 1996-1997 President, Western Psychological Association * 1997-2000 Chair, Department of Psychology,

* 1997-2009 Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences,

* 2002-2005 Director, Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity,

* 2002-2003 President,

Society for Personality and Social Psychology A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. So ...

* 2009-2011 Provost of

* 2011-2014 Dean,

Stanford Graduate School of Education The Stanford University Graduate School of Education (Stanford GSE or GSE) is one of the top education schools in the United States. It offers master's and doctoral programs in more than 25 areas of specialization, along with joint degrees with ...

* 2014–2016 Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost,

Awards and honors

* 1994-1995 Cattell Faculty Fellowship, the

James McKeen Cattell James McKeen Cattell (May 25, 1860 – January 20, 1944) was the first professor of psychology in the United States, teaching at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He was a long-time editor and publisher of scientific journals and pub ...

Fund * 1995 Dean's Teaching Award,

* 1996 Elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

* 1997

Gordon Allport Gordon William Allport (November 11, 1897 – October 9, 1967) was an American psychologist. Allport was one of the first psychologists to focus on the study of the personality, and is often referred to as one of the founding figures of personali ...

Prize in

Social Psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...

, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues * 1998 Elected to the National Academy of Education * 2000

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...

Fellow Award for Distinguished Scientific Career Contribution,

American Psychological Society The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in r ...

* 2001 Donald Campbell Award,

* 2002

Kurt Lewin Kurt Lewin ( ; ; 9 September 1890 – 12 February 1947) was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social psychology, social, industrial and organizational psychology, organizational, and applied psychology in the ...

Memorial Award, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues * 2002 Senior Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest,

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

* 2003 Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award,

* 2003 Elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

* 2004 Columbia Teachers College Medal for Distinguished Service * 2007 Distinguished Scientific Impact Award, the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. (For “Threat in the Air”) * 2007 Presidential Citation,

* 2008 Elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

* Received honorary doctorates from:

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, and

University of Maryland, Baltimore The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1807, it is the second oldest college in Maryland and comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, me ...

. * 2010 Honorary Doctor of Science from Northwestern University * 2010 Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award for mentoring students whose work has had an effect on society * 2011 Elected to The National Science Board * 2011 Alexander George Book Award * 2012 The SPSP Service to the Field Award on Behalf of Personality and Social Psychology * 2016 Scientific Impact Award, The Society of Experimental Social Psychology * 2017 Fellow, American Institutes for Research * 2017 Fellow, American Academy of Political and Social Science * 2020 The Legacy Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. The Legacy Award honors figures whose career contributions have shaped the field.

Memberships

* American Academy of Education *

* Board,

Social Science Research Council The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it maintains a headqua ...

* Board of Directors, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation *

National Science Board The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President of the United States, president and the United ...

References

External links

*
Article on irasilver.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Claude American social psychologists Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences American twins African-American psychologists 1946 births Stanford University Department of Psychology faculty Stanford Graduate School of Education faculty University of Michigan faculty Education school deans People from Cook County, Illinois 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century American psychologists 21st-century American psychologists APA Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology recipients James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award recipients Members of the American Philosophical Society