Now that we know children as young as 7-8 years old are aware of the math-gender stereotype, I want to look at how this knowledge affects the children when they are older. As we discussed in class, girls get better grades in math classes, but boys outperform them on standardized tests. The proceeding research provides evidence to support that the stereotype threat plays a role in women's test performance.
Cadinu (2005) split participants, who were all female, into two groups. Those in the control group were told that "there are no differences between men and women in logical-mathematical tasks," and those in the experimental group were told that "recent research has shown that there are clear differences in the scores obtained by men and women in logical-mathematical task." Participants then took a difficult math test (similar to math questions on the GRE). After every problem, there was an empty page so that the participant could write down any thoughts they had, whether it be that their mother's birthday is this week, or that they hated math. Responses were then coded into one of seven categories: negative math-related thoughts, hate for math, generic distress, self-confidence, neutral reference to the test, not knowing what to write, guess, and other.
Results showed that participants in the experimental group had a significantly lower number of correct responses than the control group. Further, when looking at the first half of the test, we see no difference in number of incorrect answers, however when we look at the second half, we see a very significant deficit from the experimental group. The control group showed an increase in correct answers towards the end of the test, while the experimental group showed a decrease. Finally, Cadinu (2005) found a significantly higher number of negative math-related thoughts in the experimental group. This study was the first to demonstrate a link between negative thinking and performance deficits. (Cadinu, 2005).
Overall, this study is very useful in that it shows us why being aware of the math stereotype effects females test score. Without as much pressure to do well in normal classroom activities, females are likely not as aware of the stereotypes, or at least aren't actively thinking about them, which allows them to perform better. On standardized tests, however, the pressure is on, which seems to make it more likely that the stereotype will make it's way into the participants mind. In conclusion, this study tells us that if a female is actively aware of the stereotype threat while taking the test, it is likely her performance will be worse than if she was not aware of the stereotype at the time.
Cadinu, M. (2005). Why Do Women Underperform Under Stereotype Threat?. Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell), 16(7), 572-578. Retrieved from EBSCOhost
I like the example of the study you chose. I think it really shows how powerful stereotype threat can be and how much it affects test takers. Maybe one of the reasons women tend to score less well on standardized test math sections is because they go in already knowing that men tend to do better. This is one of the reasons I don't believe the SATs are the best way to measure a person's college ability. One part I loved about the study was that participants could write down their thoughts afterwards- I think that is a very useful tool for determining the effects of stereotype threat.
ReplyDeleteThis research and its methods have been heavily called into question...
ReplyDeletehttp://in.news.yahoo.com/doubts-cast-men-better-women-math-stereotype-042819834.html
In fact, other research shows the opposite effect...
http://www.sciencecodex.com/people_present_themselves_in_ways_that_counteract_prejudices_toward_their_group-110565
It is certainly a more comforting idea that there are no natural cognitive differences between males and females and they are merely the result of environmental or cultural factors...
http://cs.nyu.edu/~ylan/files/malesFemales05.pdf
After all, traditionally, differences are often considered "deficits" and that certainly conflicts with our ideas of everyone being born equal...
http://homepages.luc.edu/~hweiman/GenderDiffs.html
However, I think it is important to realize that the research on all of this is EXTREMELY young and undeveloped, and it is important to not jump to any conclusions based on what we WANT to be true...
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/2485
After all, it seems as if for every study that indicates a cultural cause of cognitive differences, there is a new one that points towards a natural cause...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16260156
If in fact it turns out that there ARE irrefutable innate cognitive differences between men and women (or among other groups) then it is really back to square one on a philosophical level, isn't it: Do differences imply superior-inferior relationships?
I think it is important to not let our desired outcome affect our critical judgement of the research (causing us to more heavily scrutinize or dismiss research that opposes our viewpoints while quickly trumpeting research that reinforces our views without a second thought).
In addition, I think it is important to have a TRULY serious discussion about the concept of differences not equating deficiencies and make efforts to educate people on how to celebrate difference and not take superior attitudes or treat different people less humanely. After all, even if it does turn out that most of the cognitive differences between people groups are purely the result of environmental factors and stereotypes, that doesn't change the fact that:
(a) individuals are STILL born with cognitive differences due to genetic abnormalities or prenatal disturbances, and
(b) environmental causes will not go away over night and cognitive differences will continue to manifest themselves between people groups regardless of our best efforts or knowledge on the subject
How then, are we to relate to and treat people with cognitive differences REGARDLESS of how they developed them? THAT is the most important question to answer.
This leads me to conclude that any discussion of cognitive differences and their causes without a frank discussion about how to interpret and respond to differences is a great disservice to the participants in the discussion.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on the matter.
Nothing better sums up the problem with the studies being done on Stereotype threat more than this:
ReplyDeletehttp://isteve.blogspot.com/2010/01/stereotype-threat-scientific-scandal.html