SBP: The Roots of Female Underrepresentation in STEM and Beyond: Exploring the Development of Gender Stereotypes about Intelligence

该项目审查了导致妇女在科学和技术领域代表性不足的一个关键因素的发展情况。具体地说，它考察了将男性而不是女性与智力才华和天才联系在一起的文化刻板印象的发展。此前的研究发现，被认为需要“天才火花”的学科往往存在最大的性别差距。因为许多科学领域都是这样描述的，所以“才华=男性”的刻板印象可能是解释这些学科中持续存在的性别差距的一个重要因素。这项研究的主要目的是了解这种刻板印象是如何在发展过程中获得的。调查这种刻板印象的发展将会告诉我们，这种刻板印象可能会如何引导有能力的年轻女性远离科学和技术职业，也可能会为阻止其不利影响而采取潜在干预措施的最佳时机提供信息。该项目由三项研究组成，以审查三个关键的发展问题。首先，它调查了儿童对男性比女性更有可能聪明的文化刻板印象的发展情况。其次，它调查了儿童参与被描绘为需要高智力水平的活动的动机的性别差异的发展情况。最后，它纵向调查了对女性智力的刻板印象是否会削弱年轻女孩随后参与据说需要才华和天赋的活动的动机。这项研究探索了一系列最终限制女性机会的过程的发展。因此，这些研究将提高家长、教育工作者和政策制定者从问题的根源进行干预的能力，以促进在学术界和行业中传统上女性代表不足的领域实现更大的性别平等。这项提议由发展和学习科学、社会心理学和扩大社会、行为和经济科学委员会内部参与的科学共同资助，并由教育和人力资源委员会的核心研究计划和科学与工程性别研究计划共同资助。

This project examines the development of a key factor leading to women's underrepresentation in science and technology. Specifically, it examines the development of the cultural stereotype that links males but not females with intellectual brilliance and genius. Previous research has found that academic disciplines that are believed to require a "spark of genius" tend to have the largest gender gaps. Because many science fields are portrayed in such terms, the "brilliance = males" stereotype may be an important factor in explaining the persistent gender gap in these disciplines. The primary goal of this research is understanding how this stereotype is acquired over the course of development. Investigating the development of this stereotype will inform how the stereotype might steer capable young women away from pursuing careers in science and technology and may also inform the optimal timing of potential interventions to block its adverse effects. This project consists of three studies to examine three crucial developmental issues. First, it investigates the development of children's knowledge of the cultural stereotype that males are more likely to be brilliant than females. Second, it investigates the development of gender differences in children's motivation to engage in activities portrayed as requiring high levels of intellectual aptitude. Finally, it investigates longitudinally whether internalizing the stereotype against females' intellectual abilities undermines young girls' subsequent motivation to engage in activities that are said to require brilliance and giftedness. This research explores the development of a set of processes that ultimately limit opportunities for women. As such, these studies will improve parents', educators', and policy-makers' ability to intervene at the root of the problem to promote greater gender equity in those domains of academia and industry in which women have traditionally been underrepresented.This proposal is being co-funded by Developmental and Learning Sciences, Social Psychology, and Science of Broadening Participation within the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate and by the Education and Human Resources Directorate's Core Research program and the Research on Gender in Science and Engineering program.