Differences in engagement and performance between men and women are regularly observed in the sport and exercise domain. Are these differences socially constructed, beyond the biological factors that are likely to explain them? The studies described in this review aim at providing some answers to this questioning, by focusing on the situational effects of stereotypes, and more particularly on processes related to the threat experienced when these stereotypes are salient in an evaluative context. The stereotype threat model is described as well as the studies that have tested it in the motor domain. Results show that societal factors such as stereotypes can affect cognitive, affective, motivational, physiological, and behavioral processes, leading in turn to their behavioral confirmation.
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