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Gender-math Stereotype Threat and Its Influential Factors of University Females

Author: YangXiaoLing
Tutor: LiHongHan
School: Guangxi Normal University
Course: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Keywords: stereotype threat stereotypic explanatory bias (SEB) gender-math stereotype threat effect university females
CLC: B844.2
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2010
Downloads: 129
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Abstract

Stereotype threat is a situational threat in which the individual in the areas of stereotype, fearing that they would verify their negative stereotype of their belonging group, leading to decline in the level of individual tasks and emotional experience associated with anxiety. Any individual in the context of negative stereotype is likely to experience stereotype threat, which has been confirmed in many areas of stereotype threat effect. Stereotype threat of gender-math widespreaded in female university students, which had a negative effect on their learning, especially math-related courses of study and mental health. In China, research on stereotype threat were not much concerned about the gender-subject stereotype threat and even less empirical research. This study focused on the following questions: (1) whether the gender-math stereotype is inherent in university students (especially the female students); (2) whether the framework of multi-threat is applicable to the research on stereotype threat in our culture; (3) whether the reconstruction of the“threat”to“challenge”can reduce or inhibit the stereotype threat and other issues.The research tested students’implicit gender stereotypes in mathematics and explored the influent factors of stereotype threat using five experiments, in order to explore the ways to inhibit the stereotype threat. The results showed that:1. The implicit gender stereotype was detected, gender had no significant effect on SEB1 (stereotypic explanatory bias on female) and SEB2 (stereotypic explanatory bias on male), that was, the implicit gender stereotype detected by SEB had no gender differences.2. Stereotype identity (high, low) had a significant main effect on the math test, neither the test property nor the stereotype identity×test property interaction was significant. The math test scores of subjects with a low-stereotype identification were higher than those of the subjects with a high-stereotype identification. Stereotype identity (high, low) had an extremely significant main effect on anxiety, test property (evaluation, non-evaluation) and the stereotype identity×test property interaction were not significant. The anxiety level of subjects with a high-stereotype identification was higher than that of the subjects with a low-stereotype identification.3. The test property (evaluation, non-evaluation, self-threat, group-threat) had a marginal significant effect on the math test. There was a significant difference between the math test scores of the subjects in self-threat and those in the property of evaluation, the fomer was higher than the latter. There was a significant difference between the math test scores of the subjects in group-threat and those in the property of evaluation, the fomer was higher than the latter. The test property (evaluation, non-evaluation, self-threat, group-threat) had a significant effect on the anxiety level. There was a significant difference between the anxiety level of the subjects in self-threat and those in the property of non-evaluation, the fomer was higher than the latter. There was a significant difference between the anxiety level of the subjects in self-threat and those in the property of evaluation, the fomer was higher than the latter. There was a significant difference between the anxiety level of the subjects in self-threat and those in group-threat, the fomer was higher than the latter.4. The test presentation (English, Chinese) had a significant effect on math test scores, in English presentation the math test scores were higher than those in Chinese presentation. There was no significant difference between the anxiety level of the subjects in English presentation and the anxiety level of the subjects in Chinese presentation.5. The test situation (challenge, threat) had an extremely significant main effect on the math test, gender outstanding (high, low) had a significant main effect on the math test and the interaction was also extremely significant. The math test scores of the subjects in the challenged situation were higher than those of the subjects in the threaten situation. The high gender outstanding subjects’math test scores were higher than the low gender outstanding subjects’. The high gender outstanding ones in the challenged test situation had the highest math test scores, but when they were in the threaten test situation, their math test scores were the lowest. The test situation (challenge, threat) had an extremely significant main effect on the anxiety level, gender outstanding (high, low) had a significant main effect on the anxiety level and the interaction was also significant. The subjects’anxiety in the challenged situation was lower than that in the threaten ituation. The high gender outstanding subjects’anxiety was higher than the low gender outstanding subjects’. Among them, the high gender outstanding ones in the threaten test situation had the highest anxiety level, the low gender outstanding ones in the challenged test situation had the lowest anxiety level.In a word, there is also gender-math stereotype threat effect in China, but because of the cultural differences, the framework of multi-threat may not fully apply to our background of oriental culture. Gender-math stereotype threat effect can be reduced or eliminated.

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