Claude Steele

Claude Steele

Claude Mason Steele (born January 1, 1946) is an American social psychologist and currently the I. James Quillen Dean for the School of Education at Stanford University, as well as Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Stanford. Previously, he served as the 21st Provost of Columbia University for two years, and before that, as a professor of psychology at various institutions for almost 40 years. He is best known for his work on stereotype threat and its application to minority student academic performance. His earlier work dealt with research on the self (e.g., self-image, self-affirmation) as well as the role of self-regulation in addictive behaviors. In 2010, he released his book, Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us, summarizing years of research on stereotype threat and the underperformance of minority students in higher education.