Misperceptions of Asian Subgroup Representation in STEM

The stereotype that Asian Americans excel in science and math has contributed to the narrative that they are overrepresented in STEM fields. However, U.S. Census data reveals this is not the case—there are significant disparities in STEM representation across Asian subgroups. The present research investigates whether U.S. participants are aware of these disparities. In Studies 1 and 2, we show that participants misperceive the STEM representation of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Filipino, and Vietnamese subgroups. Study 3 demonstrates that these misperceptions persist despite changes in question framing and measurement. Furthermore, our findings suggest that these misperceptions are due to stereotypical expectations: participants view East and South Asian subgroups as more representative of Asian Americans and therefore more likely to be overrepresented in STEM, while perceiving Southeast Asian subgroups as less representative and more likely to be underrepresented. In a final study, we find that informing egalitarian-minded participants about these disparities increases support for racial equity–enhancing policies, and all participants’ support for disaggregated data about Asian subgroups. Overall, our findings indicate that many U.S. participants are unaware of the within-group disparities among Asian Americans and underscore the importance of collecting and reporting data at the subgroup level to bring these inequalities to light.