~ 77 ~ International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health 2021; 8(2): 77-84 P-ISSN: 2394-1685 E-ISSN: 2394-1693 Impact Factor (ISRA): 5.38 IJPESH 2021; 8(2): 77-84 © 2021 IJPESH www.kheljournal.com Received: 07-01-2021 Accepted: 12-02-2021 Gustave Adolphe Messanga Department of Philosophy- Psychology-Sociology, University of Dschang, Cameroon Aline Dounmejong Songong Department of Philosophy- Psychology-Sociology, University of Dschang, Cameroon Sylvestre Nzeuta Lontio Department of Philosophy- Psychology-Sociology, University of Dschang, Cameroon Corresponding Author: Gustave Adolphe Messanga Department of Philosophy- Psychology-Sociology, University of Dschang, Cameroon Effect of emotional intelligence on sensitivity to stereotype threat among girls learning to play football Gustave Adolphe Messanga, Aline Dounmejong Songong and Sylvestre Nzeuta Lontio DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/kheljournal.2021.v8.i2b.2029 Abstract This study assesses sensitivity to stereotype threat among girls learning to play football. It fits precisely in the perspective of works on the reduction factors of this phenomenon. It proposes emotional intelligence as a factor that can reduce sensitivity to this threat; hence the hypothesis: among girls learning to play football, high emotional intelligence reduces sensitivity to stereotype threat more than low emotional intelligence. Specifically, participants’ exposure to an ingroup stereotype of incompetence was expected to impact them differently, depending on their level of emotional intelligence. This hypothesis was tested through an experiment carried out with 61 female pupils attending the Government Bilingual High School of Penka-Michel (Cameroon). That exeperiment was conducted in a natural setting, following the stereotype threat’s experimental paradigm. The results do not support the hypothesis of the study, although it can be observed that the average performance of participants with high emotional intelligence is higher than that of their counterparts with low emotional intelligence (f (1, 61) = 6.79; Ŋ 2 = .98; p = .135˃.05; t = .63; p = .532˃.05; M high IE = 3566.67> M low IE = 3433.72). It is concluded that emotional intelligence does not significantly reduce sensitivity to stereotype threat. Keywords: stereotype threat, emotions, emotional intelligence, sensitivity to stereotype threat, performance 1. Introduction Stereotypes are socially shared beliefs about the personal characteristics, personality traits and behaviors of the members of a group (Sales-Wuillemin, 2007) [42] . This cognitive dimension of intergroup representations is underpinned by the attribution of negative traits to individuals. Thus, when stereotypes are internalized and shared by the people who are their targets, they generate negative emotions that impact their working memory (Schmader et al., 2008) [44] . The consequence is the decline in their intellectual performance; hence the stereotype threat (Chateignier et al., 2011; De Meyer, 2015; Racky, 2013) [12, 36, 40] . If, since the pioneer work of Steele and Aronson (1995) [45] , the specialized literature has focused on establishing the existence of this threat and explaining its underlying mechanisms in various contexts and with different populations, one can observe that it is increasingly interested in strategies and factors that make it possible to reduce its negative impact on performance (Schmader et al., 2008) [44] . The present study is within that perspective. 1.1 The stereotype threat The question underlying research on stereotype threat is formulated as follows: how do you explain that negative stereotypes can lead to reduced performance in stigmatized populations? (Chateignier, 2014) [13] The two major explanations offered so far by the literature concern the way individuals process information relating to the task to be accomplished and the emotions generated by the threatening situation. Indeed, stereotype threat leads to a reduction in the capacity to process and filter relevant information for the accomplishment of the task (Schmader & Johns, 2003) [43] . In principle, this filtration is ensured by the working memory which, because of the threat, sees its processing capacities reduced. The reason for this reduction is related to the fact that stereotype threat generates intrusive thoughts whose action