GSE/RES: Attributional Gender Bias: Investigating Teachers' Explanations for Girls' vs. Boys' Performance in Math

本研究旨在探讨如何通过解决他们的智力理论来减少中学数学教师中一种具体而普遍的性别偏见。这种归因性别偏见涉及对女性与男性学生在数学方面的表现产生不同归因（解释）的倾向：男孩在数学方面的成功归因于能力，而女孩的成功归因于努力;但是，男孩在数学方面的失败归因于缺乏努力，而女孩的失败归因于缺乏能力（Fennema et al.，1990年）。这项拟议中的研究将测试引入增量（基于努力的，可延展的）智力理论-而不是实体（基于能力的，固定的）理论-是否可以减少数学教师中的这种偏见。 如果教师认为智力是可塑的，而不是固定的，那么他们应该认为女孩和男孩都有在数学上取得成功的倾向。该项目包括一个试点研究，然后是主要研究，有三个数据收集点。本研究将进行先导性研究，以有系统地发展刺激，以诱导智力的增量理论，并完善评估归因性别偏见的依赖措施。主要研究将进行测试以下假设：暴露于增量理论刺激的实验组中的参与者将参与较少的归因性别偏见（1）相对于控制组参与者，他们不会暴露于刺激，（2）在暴露于刺激后的三个点。参与者将在暴露于刺激之前和之后立即完成评估，并在随后的两个学期中的每个学期完成评估，以确定假设效应的持续时间。这将使调查是否操纵继续影响教师，因为他们面对新的和现有的关系与学生。智力merit本研究项目是一项努力，应用社会心理学研究的归因和智力理论的问题，女孩的学习和参与STEM的障碍。 鉴于以往的研究记录归因性别偏见的普遍性，重要的是要调查什么条件下可以产生衰减的偏见。中学教师与大量学生互动，这些学生正处于学术和个人生活的关键过渡时期。作为影响女孩对STEM的态度和反应的一个潜在来源，教师创造的人际关系动态和课堂条件可能会抑制她们参与数学和科学，很可能没有意识到指导她们行为的心理过程。以前的研究表明，智力的增量理论与积极的学术成果有关。如果智力的增量理论可以通过扩大个体对智力的概念来减少归因的性别偏见，数学成绩，那么，这一发现将扩大我们的知识，什么条件有利于女孩的学习和STEM的兴趣。更广泛的影响拟议的研究的实验设计是这样的，它可以复制的其他研究人员关心如何社会-心理过程影响为女孩构建STEM教育环境的成年人。根据这项研究的结果，该项目可能会促使科学界进一步研究教师和学生的性别归因、能力和成绩概念以及与性别有关的师生动态之间的联系。此外，由于这项研究将在一个主要是拉丁美洲工人阶级的社区进行，它将表明是否归因偏见和智力理论的先前研究结果推广到拟议的人口。该项目将是探讨如何在种族、文化和社会经济地位的背景下看待女孩在STEM中的表现的问题的第一步。

This research seeks to investigate how a specific yet pervasive gender bias can be reduced among middle school math teachers by addressing their theories about intelligence. This attributional gender bias involves the tendency to generate different attributions (explanations) for female versus male students' performance in math: boys' successes in math are attributed to ability, while girls' successes are attributed to effort; but, boys' failures in math are attributed to a lack of effort and girls' failures to a lack of ability (Fennema et al., 1990). The proposed research will test whether inducing an incremental (effort-based, malleable) theory of intelligence--as opposed to an entity (ability-based, fixed) theory--can reduce this bias among math teachers. If teachers view intelligence as malleable rather than fixed, then they should perceive both girls and boys as having the propensity to succeed in math. The attributional gender bias should be difficult to maintain when ascribing to an incremental theory of intelligence. The project consists of a pilot study followed by the main study with three data collection points. The pilot study will be conducted to methodically develop stimuli to induce an incremental theory of intelligence and to refine the dependent measure for assessing attributional gender bias. The main study will be conducted to test the following hypothesis: participants in an experimental group exposed to incremental theory stimuli will engage in less attributional gender bias (1) relative to control group participants, who will not be exposed to the stimuli, and (2) at three points following exposure to the stimuli. Participants will complete assessments before and immediately after exposure to stimuli and during each of two subsequent semesters, in order to determine the duration of the hypothesized effects. This will allow investigation of whether the manipulation continues to impact teachers as they confront new and existing relationships with students.Intellectual meritThis research project is an effort to apply social-psychological research on attribution and intelligence theories to the issue of barriers to girls' learning and participation in STEM. Given the pervasiveness of the attributional gender bias documented by previous research, it is important to investigate what conditions can produce attenuation of the bias. Middle school teachers interact with large numbers of students who are at a critical transition period in their academic and personal lives. As a potential source of influence in girls' attitudes and responses to STEM, teachers create interpersonal dynamics and classroom conditions that may inhibit involvement with math and science, likely without consciousness of the psychological processes that guide their behaviors. Previous research suggests that an incremental theory of intelligence is associated with positive academic outcomes. If an incremental theory of intelligence can reduce attributional gender bias by broadening individuals' conceptions of intelligence and (by association) math performance, then this finding will expand our knowledge of what conditions facilitate girls' learning and interest in STEM.Broader ImpactsThe experimental design of the proposed research is such that it can be replicated by other researchers concerned with how social-psychological processes influence the adults who construct STEM educational environments for girls. Depending on the outcomes of this research, the project may instigate further research in the scientific community on the link between teachers' and students' gender attributions, conceptions of ability and performance, and teacher-student dynamics in relation to gender. Furthermore, because this research will be undertaken in a predominantly Latino working-class community, it would indicate whether previous findings on attributional bias and intelligence theories generalize to the proposed population. This project will be an initial step in approaching the issue of how girls' performance in STEM is perceived against the backdrop of ethnicity, culture, and socioeconomic status.