WI-AIMH Recommended Reading: "Whistling Vivaldi" by Dr. Claude Steele

This summer, WI-AIMH staff is sharing summer reading recommendations with our social media audiences. Look for a new post every Thursday for a book selection and thoughts from a member of Team WI-AIMH.

Week Six: Kathie reads Whistling Vivaldi by Dr. Claude Steele

"I always appreciate a good Mystery. Dr Claude Steele describes his work, Whistling Vivaldi, as social science research posing as a mystery novel.

The author is a renowned social psychologist who examines the social constructs of identity, stereotype and perceived threat and the implications that these concepts have on how we live our lives and experience the world. He started his research with a problem – why were African American college students getting lower grades compared to their white peers with the name SAT scores? As he began to examine this puzzle, he and his team find women under-performing in university math classes compared to men at the same ability levels. This leads him on a journey examining the power that the threat of negative stereotypes has on performance. As he explores further, he encounters a variety of different ways that this “Stereotype Threat” impacts career choices, perceived levels of comfort, and daily life.

If the ideas in Whistling Vivaldi seem compelling, Dr. Steele also has some excellent recorded talks including this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YbE3ljT3t4) where he discusses his ideas and research." - - Kathie, Team WI-AIMH