In studies, reminding female test-takers that women historically have done poorly on a similar test can lead to lower test performance-- - particularly when compared with the sources of women who weren't given such information. This decline in performance is an example of

Stereotype threat

Explanation:

In studies, reminding female test-takers that women historically have done poorly on a similar test can lead to lower test performance-- - particularly when compared with the sources of women who weren't given such information. This decline in performance is an example of stereotype threat.

In this type of stereotype, there is a threat of confirming to the stereotypes that have already been set by the society. The fear of doing bad instead of good in tests eventually leads them to do bad and confirm the negative stereotypes.