stereotypes, causes, and math performance
Article in Science (abstract, full text) on how women’s math performance is affected by whether they are considering genetic or experiential accounts for the stereotype of women’s underachievement in math.
Stereotype threat is when exposure to a self-relevant stereotype (e.g., regarding something like gender or race) causes someone to behave in such a way that perpetuates the stereotype. The authors of this article wanted to determine whether the causes given for women’s underachievement in math (namely, genetics or experience) affected women’s math performance, i.e., whether stereotype threat was affected by the causes given for that stereotype. (Note that the study was NOT intended to address the question of whether there are innate sex differences in math performance.) To test this, women were given a math test, then an essay to read, and then another math test. The essay either claimed that math-related sex-differences are genetic, experiential, or don’t exist. The women who were given essays stating that math-related sex-differences don’t exist or are due to experience significantly outperformed women who were given essays that claimed genetic causes. Interesting, huh?
(Thanks to Julia for pointing out the article.)
October 21st, 2006 at 3:40 am
Any word on men, either same subject or in communication skills?
October 21st, 2006 at 8:09 am
I conducted a badly designed, non-RCT early version of this research several years ago. Two litle girls were treated as if they would be good at maths and enjoy it. When they got bored with school maths in primary school, a tutor was employed whose job was to spend an hour a week doing fun and amazing maths things with them. Their mother (not a good maths performer but interested in maths) enthusiastically undertook a maths course for herself at the same time. Result? Both girls (born, as they were, of unconfident maths stock on the maternal side) turned out to be excellent math performers. So there - it’s already been proved!
October 22nd, 2006 at 6:35 am
Thanks for posting this up, I saw it on planet gnome. Very interesting.
October 23rd, 2006 at 5:11 pm
Interesting stuff: I’ve seen some very similar results, but with black undergrad students in the US & exam performance. I can try and track down the references if you like.
October 23rd, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Phil, that’d be great. Thanks!
October 24th, 2006 at 10:34 am
The original paper is Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African-Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 797-811.
Here’s a more recent article: http://www.psychologymatters.org/stereotypethreat.html
cheers, Phil
December 26th, 2008 at 9:40 am
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