Individual differences in gender role beliefs influence spatial ability test performance
نویسندگان
چکیده
The gender role hypothesis posits that performance on a cognitive ability test is influenced by whether the test instructions frame the test as measuring a skill that is consistent or inconsistent with the test taker’s gender role beliefs. The Bem sex role inventory was used to measure the gender role of female college students, and the group embedded figures test (GEFT) was used to measure their spatial ability. Masculine gender role women scored significantly higher on the GEFT when the test was described as measuring spatial ability, whereas feminine gender role women scored significantly higher when the test was described as measuring empathy. In a second experiment, men did not show the same effects. Implications of individual differences in gender role beliefs are discussed. D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
منابع مشابه
Implicit and Explicit Gender Beliefs in Spatial Ability: Stronger Stereotyping in Boys than Girls
Sex differences in spatial ability are a seriously debated topic, given the importance of spatial ability for success in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and girls' underrepresentation in these domains. In the current study we investigated the presence of stereotypic gender beliefs on spatial ability (i.e., "spatial ability is for boys") in 10- and 12-year-...
متن کاملGender difference does not mean genetic difference: Externalizing improves performance in mental rotation
a r t i c l e i n f o The fear of underperforming owing to stereotype threat affects women's performance in tasks such as mathematics , chess, and spatial reasoning. The present research considered mental rotation and explored effects on performance and on regulatory focus of instructions pointing to different explanations for gender differences. Two hundred and one participants were asked to p...
متن کاملGirls' spatial abilities: charting the contributions of experiences and attitudes in different academic groups.
BACKGROUND Gender-related differences in spatial abilities favouring males are well established but have also generated a great deal of controversy. Cross-cultural research, meta-analyses and training studies could show the influence of socio-cultural and experiential factors on spatial-test performance. However, little is known about how experiences and gender-role stereotypes mediate performa...
متن کاملL2 Learners’ Affect and Pragmatic Performance: A Focus on Emotional Intelligence and Gender Dimensions
Research on L2 learners’ success at development and appropriate use of pragmatic ability and knowledge has mostly approached the issue from a cognitive or social perspective, and less attention has been devoted to the problem from the equally important emotional or individual-psychological lenses. This study sought to explore, first, the interplay between Iranian advanced EFL learners’ pragmati...
متن کاملAn Empirical Examination of the Association between Individual Differences Variables and Writing Performance of Iranian EFL Learners
The present study was designed to initially test a model of the role of a set of cognitive (namely, aptitude and working memory) and motivational (namely, language learning goals, self-efficacy beliefs and self-regulation strategy use) individual differences variables in writing performance of a group of Iranian undergraduate EFL learners and, subsequently, to identify the possible differences ...
متن کامل