Regarding the Mismatch Hypothesis and Stereotype Threat in the Debate over Affirmative Action

Abstract

The debate over affirmative action has played a significant role in shaping the world of academia over the past several decades. Accordingly, researchers Mary Fischer and Douglas Massey attempt to evaluate many of the arguments surrounding the social policy in their paper “The effects of affirmative action in higher education.” Drawing from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshman, the authors conclude that there is no basis for the Mismatch Hypothesis and only a limited statistical basis for Stereotype Threat. We replicated their results and extended their analysis by examining a variety of regression specifications including demographic information, socioeconomic background, and social preparedness. We find that their conclusions are robust and that there is no evidence for the Mismatch Hypothesis and only a limited amount of evidence for Stereotype Threat. This is good news for academic institutions as it demonstrates that affirmative action can be practiced without significant negative consequence to the peer group it claims to help.