Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do

Nothing explains this tour de force better than the title itself, which refers to the revealing story of a young black man who realizes that he can defuse the fears of white people by whistling melodies from Vivaldi. With this and countless other examples, drawn from a life of groundbreaking research, the eminent social psychology Claude M. Steele sheds new light on how pervasive stereotypes can actually influence behavior and performance, and how these stereotypes, left unexamined, perpetuate themselves. Whistling Vivaldi provides a necessary blueprint for reshaping American identity.

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