This study demonstrates how psychological threats and poor academic performance are related and build off of each other. The findings show that diminishing psychological threat based on race can positively impact academic achievement in the targeted minority group, while not hindering the performance of the non-targeted group. Just as psychological threats can be a catalyst for the cycle of poor performance, a reduction in psychological threats can be a catalyst for the cycle of improving performance. The treatment in this study can create an accumulation of smaller improvements that can turn into a larger improvement on the student as a whole. The researchers concluded that the treatment of affirmation reduced the psychological availability of stereotypes in the targeted students' minds, which can lead to a change in African American students' views about academic success and defeat in the long run.