The Development of Gender Stereotypes About STEM Abilities: A Meta-Analysis

该项目将研究可能限制女孩和妇女充分参与科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域的信念和动机过程的起源。具体而言，这个综合项目旨在澄清关于STEM能力的性别陈规定型观念如何首先发展以及这些陈规定型观念如何与STEM中的性别差距有关的混合结果。一些对儿童的研究发现，在数学和科学方面存在着预期的上级男性能力的刻板印象，但另一些研究发现的只是群体内的偏见，甚至是女性优越的刻板印象。该项目将综合世界各地超过25年的实证研究，以了解人口统计学，背景和测量因素如何解释这些混合结果。例如，随着儿童年龄的增长和在其环境中学习信息，儿童的STEM能力刻板印象可能越来越有利于男孩和男性。这些发展轨迹的知识可以帮助干预研究人员和从业人员瞄准儿童开始相信女孩和妇女在STEM中处于劣势的最早年龄。该项目包括两项荟萃分析，将分析（a）儿童对STEM能力的性别刻板印象的平均水平和（B）这些刻板印象与动机STEM结果（如信心和兴趣）的关系。在这两个荟萃分析中，焦点主持人将包括儿童人口统计学，文化背景和测量特征。该项目产生的知识将有助于澄清关于STEM能力刻板印象的混合发展文献。理解为什么一项研究发现刻板印象强烈有利于男性，而另一项研究发现相反的情况，对于促进累积，可复制的科学和建立刻板印象发展的综合理论至关重要。此外，综合能力刻板印象与信心和兴趣等结果的关系，可以建立关于这些信念如何与STEM参与中的性别差距相关的基本知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will study the origins of beliefs and motivational processes that could potentially limit the full participation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Specifically, this synthesis project aims to clarify mixed findings about how gender stereotypes about STEM abilities first develop and how these stereotypes relate to gender gaps in STEM. Some studies of children have found the expected stereotype of superior male ability in mathematics and science, but others have found only in-group bias or even stereotypes of female superiority. This project will synthesize more than 25 years of empirical research across the world to understand how demographic, contextual, and measurement factors explain these mixed findings. For instance, children's STEM ability stereotypes may increasingly favor boys and men as children age and learn messages in their environments. Knowledge of these developmental trajectories can help intervention researchers and practitioners target the earliest ages when children begin to believe that girls and women are inferior in STEM.This project consists of two meta-analyses that will analyze variation in (a) mean levels of children's gender stereotypes about STEM abilities and (b) these stereotypes relation to motivational STEM outcomes such as confidence and interests. In both meta-analyses, focal moderators will include child demographics, cultural contexts, and measurement characteristics. Knowledge generated by this project will help bring clarity to the mixed developmental literature on STEM ability stereotypes. Understanding why one study finds stereotypes strongly favoring males, whereas another study finds the opposite, will be critical to foster cumulative, replicable science and build integrative theories of stereotype development. Furthermore, synthesizing how ability stereotypes relate to outcomes such as confidence and interests can build fundamental knowledge on how these beliefs might relate to gender gaps in STEM participation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.