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

该项目审查导致妇女在科学和技术领域任职人数不足的一个关键因素的发展情况。具体而言，它考察了文化陈规定型观念的发展，这种观念将男性而不是女性与智力才华和天才联系起来。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。由于许多科学领域都是以这种方式描述的，“才华=男性”的刻板印象可能是解释这些学科中持续存在性别差距的一个重要因素。本研究的主要目标是了解这种刻板印象是如何在发展过程中获得的。 调查这种定型观念的发展情况将有助于了解这种定型观念如何使有能力的年轻妇女放弃从事科学和技术职业，也有助于了解可能采取干预措施以阻止其不利影响的最佳时机。该项目包括三项研究，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知识发展。其次，它调查了儿童参与被描述为需要高水平智力能力的活动的动机方面的性别差异的发展。最后，它纵向调查了对女性智力能力的定型观念的内化是否会破坏年轻女孩后来从事据说需要才华和天赋的活动的动机。这项研究探讨了一套最终限制妇女机会的程序的发展。因此，这些研究将提高家长、教育者和决策者从根本上干预问题的能力，以促进在传统上妇女代表性不足的学术界和工业界领域实现更大的性别平等。此外，还通过教育和人力资源局的核心研究方案以及科学和工程领域的性别研究方案开展了一项研究。

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.