Stereotype threat is such an interesting concept. It's closely connected to the idea of malleability of intelligence as explained in e.g. this article: http://

Stereotype threat is such an interesting concept. It's closely connected to the idea of malleability of intelligence as explained in e.g. this article: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-secret-to-raising-sm... It raises interesting issues of what people actually mean when they want someone who "is smart and gets things done". Just the basic expression "smart people" seems to imply that you have rejected the idea of malleability of intelligence and think that people are either smart or not. I'm not really arguing that there is not an innate random quality to "aptitude", but if you believe that article you don't want someone who is smart, you want someone who has worked hard to acquire important skills, since people who just think of themselves as "smart" are more likely to cave when faced with difficulty.