Karin and Her Mother Live on Welfare in a Poor

Multiple Choice

Karin and her mother live on welfare in a poor, inner-city neighborhood in Detroit. Karin is quite bright and highly motivated, and she really wants to get a college education. However, she knows that, on average, students from low-income homes perform more poorly on the SAT tests than students from wealthier homes. When she takes the SAT, she is so nervous that she has trouble concentrating on the test items, and as a result her scores are lower than they should be. Which of the following concepts best explains what has happened to Karin?

A) Hot cognition
B) Stereotype threat
C) Cognitive dissonance
D) High motive to avoid failure