Chapter 10. Gender Stereotypes

10.1 Welcome

Think Like a Scientist
true
dependent variable
The factor that is observed and measured for change in an experiment, thought to be influenced by the independent variable; also called the outcome variable.
gender-role stereotypes
The beliefs and expectations people hold about the typical characteristics, preferences, and behavior of men and women.
implicit attitudes
Preferences and biases toward particular groups that are automatic, spontaneous, unintentional, and often unconscious; measured with the Implicit Associations Test (IAT).
independent variable
The purposely manipulated factor thought to produce change in an experiment; also called the treatment variable.

Think Like a Scientist

Gender Stereotypes

By:

Susan A. Nolan, Seton Hall University

Sandra E. Hockenbury

REFERENCES

Brendl, C. Miguel; Markman, Arthur B.; & Messner, Claude. (2001). How do indirect measures of evaluation work? Evaluating the inference of prejudice in the Implicit Association Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 760–773.

Glick, Peter, & Fiske, Susan T. (2011). Ambivalent sexism revisited. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35, 530–535.

Jackson, Sarah M.; Hillard, Amy L.; & Schneider, Tamera R. (2014). Using implicit bias training to improve attitudes toward women in STEM. Social Psychology of Education, 17, 1–20.

Lane, Kristin A.; Goh, Jin X.; & Driver-Linn, Erin. (2012). Implicit science stereotypes mediate the relationship between gender and academic participation. Sex Roles, 66, 220–234.

McNeely, Connie L., & Vlaicu, Sorina. (2010). Exploring institutional hiring trends of women in the U.S. STEM professoriate. Review of Policy Research, 27, 781–793.

Moss-Racusin, Corinne A.; Dovidio, John F.; Brescoll, Victoria L.; Graham, Mark J.; & Handelsman, Jo. (2012). Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,109, 16474–16479.

Rothermund, Klaus, & Wentura, Dirk. (2004). Underlying processes in the Implicit Association Test: Dissociating salience from associations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133, 139–165.

Swanson, Jane E.; Rudman, Laurie; & Greenwald, Anthony G. (2001). Using the Implicit Association Test to investigate attitude-behaviour consistency for stigmatised behaviour. Cognition & Emotion, 15, 207–230.

FAQ

What is Think Like a Scientist?
Think Like a Scientist is a digital activity designed to help you develop your scientific thinking skills. Each activity places you in a different, real-world scenario, asking you to think critically about a specific claim.

Can instructors track your progress in Think Like a Scientist?
Scores from the five-question assessments at the end of each activity can be reported to your instructor. To ensure your privacy while participating in non-assessment features, which can include pseudoscientific quizzes or games, no other student response is saved or reported.

How is Think Like a Scientist aligned with the APA Guidelines 2.0?
The American Psychological Association’s “Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major” provides a set of learning goals for students. Think Like a Scientist addresses several of these goals, although it is specifically designed to develop skills from APA Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking. “Gender Stereotypes” covers many outcomes, including:

  • Incorporate sociocultural factors in scientific inquiry: Relate examples of how a researcher’s value system, sociocultural characteristics, and historical context influence the development of scientific inquiry on psychological questions [consider development of and response to Implicit Attitudes Test]
  • Interpret, design, and conduct basic psychological research: Define and explain the purpose of key research concepts that characterize psychological research [identify independent and dependent variables in a study]

10.2 Introduction

This activity invites you to test the claim that many of us believe gender stereotypes unconsciously (implicitly) even if we are not aware that we do so consciously (explicitly). First, you’ll take an Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess how quickly you associate words related to women and men with fields in the liberal arts or sciences. You’ll then examine evidence about whether people hold implicit, unconscious biases. Next, you’ll explore alternative explanations for the IAT findings. Finally, you’ll consider the source of the evidence about potential gender biases.

10.3 Identify the Claim

1

Identify the Claim

10.3.1 Do People Still Hold Gender Biases?

hockenbury_tls_ch10_gender_test

It’s true that obvious instances of sexism have decreased over the past few decades (Glick & Fiske, 2011). But even people who don’t think they are sexist can have implicit gender biases, beliefs of which they are unaware. To measure these implicit attitudes, researchers at Project Implicit developed Implicit Association Tests (IATs), which measure how quickly and accurately people connect concepts. For example, one version of the IAT asks you to match science-related words like “physics” or liberal arts-related words like “literature” with male- and female-related words like “man” or “woman.” Take this version of the IAT to see if you hold any unconscious biases about women in science fields. (And don’t worry; we’re not keeping your data or sharing it with your instructor!)

In this activity, you will be presented with a set of words to classify into categories. You must categorize items as quickly and accurately as possible. If you go too slowly or make too many errors, your score cannot be interpreted.

Important information:

  • Place your index fingers on the 'Z' and '/' keys and keep them there to enable you to respond quickly.
  • You will see category labels—male, female, science, or liberal arts—on each side of the screen. The ones on the left go with the 'Z' key and the ones on the right go with the '/' key.
  • When a word pops up in the middle, you need to categorize it properly. So, if it says “Science” on the left, and the word “Astronomy” pops up in the middle, you would hit the 'Z' key on the left.
  • It’s OK if you make some mistakes. It’s more important to go fast.
  • Before you begin, make sure you’re in a quiet place with no distractions.

10.3.2 Do You Have Implicit Gender Biases?

After taking the IAT, you may have discovered that you have unconscious gender biases. If you don’t have them, that’s great. But don’t worry if you do; you’re probably in the majority.

Question

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Correct! The researchers were examining the claim that people hold implicit biases about the appropriate fields for women and men to pursue. Men are more easily associated with science fields and women with liberal arts fields.
Actually, the answer is C. The researchers were examining the claim that people hold implicit biases about the appropriate fields for women and men to pursue. Men are more easily associated with science fields and women with liberal arts fields.

10.4 Evaluate the Evidence

2

Evaluate the Evidence

10.4.1 Implicit Gender Biases about Fields of Study

People hold unconscious, implicit biases and conscious, explicit biases, both of which can influence behavior. Implicit biases are based on beliefs outside of our awareness, whereas explicit biases are based on beliefs of which we are aware. Researchers found that both female and male university students hold implicit biases about women in science, which might guide students’ decisions about their fields of study (Lane & others, 2012). In one study, interest in science was not predicted by explicit biases, what people say they think about women in science. However, interest in science was predicted by implicit biases, students’ unconscious beliefs. Implicit biases, then, contributed to the outcome that women were less likely than men to report that they would choose a major in math or science.

This photo shows a woman working in a scientific laboratory to signify the implicit biases against women who choose science as a field of study.
Klaus Tiedge/age fotostock

10.4.2 Studying Implicit Biases

Can implicit and explicit biases be changed by diversity training? In one study, researchers examined implicit beliefs among faculty members in the sciences by giving male and female participants an IAT before and after a half-hour diversity training session (Jackson & others, 2014). Participants were also asked about their explicit attitudes, their conscious beliefs about women in the sciences.

So, researchers examined the effects of two variables—gender (female and male) and diversity training (pre-training and post-training)—on two other variables—implicit attitudes about women in science using an IAT and explicit attitudes about women in science.

Question

What are the independent variables in this study? Click as many answers as are applicable.

ZycNTMvpRoSnXPUZl8FiVl5s+iDEL2Bo a. gender
ZycNTMvpRoSnXPUZl8FiVl5s+iDEL2Bo b. diversity training
3jskoxIwaHnoYr4Fsi2l/v3etGMIufia c. implicit attitudes
3jskoxIwaHnoYr4Fsi2l/v3etGMIufia d. explicit attitudes
3jskoxIwaHnoYr4Fsi2l/v3etGMIufia e. field of study
Table
Correct! The researchers were interested in the effects of two independent variables: gender (either male and female) and diversity training (for pre- and post-training on two outcome variables).
Actually it was A and B. The researchers were interested in the effects of two independent variables: gender (either male and female) and diversity training (for pre- and post-training on two outcome variables).

Question

What are the dependent variables in this study? Click as many answers as are applicable.

3jskoxIwaHnoYr4Fsi2l/v3etGMIufia a. gender
3jskoxIwaHnoYr4Fsi2l/v3etGMIufia b. diversity training
ZycNTMvpRoSnXPUZl8FiVl5s+iDEL2Bo c. implicit attitudes
ZycNTMvpRoSnXPUZl8FiVl5s+iDEL2Bo d. explicit attitudes
3jskoxIwaHnoYr4Fsi2l/v3etGMIufia e. field of study
Table
Correct! The researchers were interested in the effects of the independent variables gender and diversity training on two dependent variables, implicit attitudes and explicit attitudes.
Actually it was C and D. The researchers were interested in the effects of the independent variables gender and diversity training on two dependent variables, implicit attitudes and explicit attitudes.

10.4.3 Implicit Gender Biases for Fields of Study?

Before diversity training, the female professors had more positive implicit views of women in scientific fields than their male counterparts (Jackson & others, 2014). After diversity training, male professors showed more positive attitudes than they did before training. Female professors, however, did not show an increase in positive attitudes, likely because they already held relatively positive beliefs. We may have implicit gender biases, but they can be altered by diversity training.

A bar chart in which the vertical axis is labelled Implicit attitudes has the area below the zero labelled as negative and above the zero as positive. The dull green colored bar labelled with men pretraining is in the negative area of the chart and the bright green bar labelled as men post-training is in the positive area. Both the blue colored bars labelled as women pre-training and women post-training are in the positive area of the chart.

10.4.4 Diversity Training and Explicit Beliefs

The researchers also measured explicit beliefs before and after diversity training (Jackson & others, 2014). Participants were asked how favorably they viewed women in scientific fields and how much they agreed with stereotypes about women in science. Women had higher scores than men on both measures before training and after training, but neither women nor men changed their explicit beliefs following the diversity training.

A bar chart is shown in which the vertical axis is labelled as Favorable attitudes and the area below the zero on the axis is labelled as negative and above zero as positive. The dull green colored bar is labelled men pre-training and the other green bar is labelled men post-training. Both bars are in the positive area of the chart. Both the blue colored bars labelled as women pre-training and women post training are in the positive area of the chart.

10.4.5 Men’s Implicit Beliefs vs. Men’s Explicit Beliefs

The researchers found that male scientists hold implicit beliefs about female scientists that can be made more positive, on average, by diversity training. Meanwhile, men’s explicit beliefs are not affected, on average, by that diversity training. Why?

These researchers speculate that explicit beliefs are affected by a desire to be socially acceptable. For instance, it’s more acceptable to say you have positive attitudes toward women in science. The researchers also suggest that implicit attitudes are a better indication of true attitudes. If diversity training works, then it should influence implicit beliefs, while explicit beliefs might not change (since they are already inflated because of social acceptability).

A male scientist works in a laboratory.
Ariel Skelley/Getty Images

10.5 Consider Alternative Explanations

3

Consider Alternative Explanations

10.5.1 Are There Other Explanations for This Gender Bias?

The researchers concluded that IATs can uncover gender biases that people don’t realize they have or are unwilling to report. But thinking like a scientist involves asking if there are other explanations for these research findings. Some researchers have wondered whether we respond more quickly to situations we experience more frequently (Brendl & others, 2001; Rothermund & Wentura, 2004). So, we may be more accustomed to associating men and science and react more quickly when we see this more common situation. We might not have a more negative implicit bias of women in science than men in science. It may simply be that women in science are less familiar to us.

A male scientist talks to two female scientists.
AMV Photo/Getty Images

10.5.2 Googling Famous Scientists

hockenbury_tls_ch10_famous_scientists

Open another window or tab on your computer and take a minute to Google “famous scientists.” Come back when you’re done.

Welcome back. Did any famous female scientists come up near the top of your search?

Yes
No
Feedback
This photo shows Marie Curie, a famous female scientist.
Roger-Viollet/The Image Works
This photo shows Neil DeGrasse Tyson, who, according to some, is the most famous scientist in the United States.
Cindy Ord/Getty Images

10.5.3 Seeing More Male Scientists

College students are more likely to have male professors than female professors in scientific fields, particularly at higher academic ranks (McNeely & Vlaicu, 2010). And we are more likely to see male scientists on TV shows or in movies. The five original main characters (pictured below) in the TV show, The Big Bang Theory, for example, were four male scientists and a waitress/aspiring actress. Only over time did other female scientist characters get more prominent roles on the show. It wouldn’t be surprising that we can more quickly associate men with science than women with science.

This photo shows the crew of the TV show Big Bang Theory. The stars of the show are four men and one woman, which indicate that most of the scientists in T V shows are male.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Question

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Correct! If we encounter male scientists—either in person or virtually—more often than we encounter female scientists, maybe our unconscious reactions reveal only that we are more accustomed to male than female scientists. It may be our experience, rather than our biases.
Actually, it’s D. If we encounter male scientists—either in person or virtually—more often than we encounter female scientists, maybe our unconscious reactions reveal only that we are more accustomed to male than female scientists. It may be our experience, rather than our biases.

10.5.4 IATs Really Do Uncover Biases

There are alternative explanations for the IAT findings, but some other research suggests that IATs actually do uncover biases (Swanson & others, 2001). Let’s explore one study about smoking, which has a kind of stigma attached to it. In this study, smokers reported more positive attitudes toward smoking than nonsmokers when asked to explicitly rate smoking on scales that ranged from ugly to glamorous and unsociable to sociable.

On an IAT, however, both smokers and nonsmokers showed negative attitudes toward smoking. Smokers might justify their behavior out loud, but they still seem to internalize the stigma. These results suggest that people say the “right” thing about a stigmatized belief or behavior when it’s socially desirable to do so, but an IAT uncovers these implicit beliefs.

This photo shows a woman smoking a cigarette.
Anton Gvozdikov/Shutterstock

10.6 Consider the Source of the Research or Claim

4

Consider the Source of the Research or Claim

10.6.1 IATs and True Beliefs

Let’s consider explicit measures and implicit measures as sources of information about our beliefs. As we’ve discovered in this activity, the IAT is more likely to be an objective assessment of our true beliefs than our stated beliefs on an explicit measure. So, an implicit measure is a better source of information about our beliefs than an explicit measure. But when IATs were first introduced, people didn’t want to believe them. It can be disturbing to realize that we may harbor biases of which we’re unaware, especially when they indicate we have a socially undesirable belief.

This is a photo of a man who is probably expressing surprise about his implicit associations.
Sifo Cracho/Shutterstock

10.6.2 IATs and True Beliefs

Let’s look at one example of an implicit measure as a source of information about beliefs. One study examined science professors’ perceptions of fictional applicants for a lab position (Moss-Racusin & others, 2012). The study asked professors to rate one of two applications that were identical except for the name. Applications with the name “John” were rated higher, on average, than applications with the name “Jennifer.” And “John” was offered an average starting salary several thousand dollars higher than “Jennifer.” Remember, the applications were identical except for the name! When we want to understand people’s beliefs, we will probably get better information by looking at implicit measures—and not just explicit measures.

The photo shows a man and a woman working in a scientific laboratory.
Randy Faris/AGE

10.7 Assessment

Assessment

10.7.1 Assessment

Question

z5Qe4c9E6ciCdoQ4LPXs9OjzQnez7oJMzvtT6+X+USQOwqFT0BxfNNwJNUadJ9tm70QF0fEgItTXMUq5dPydY88F8FcCnrXjeIlbUn9+tLpLz4cB99PSeRQ1eWCYYbqNjEQeNajJDwD78NchViGOtrefVyk7+YWvK3TyNyXNWQBL6/Qwn+XXErISuI5ITNEkkYGRljrGajk9H/RiuhIU8S3S+BnykmA2YxPglR28kMd7sodfCJgqvYIkSv3VKfxu70u9wg==
The correct answer is B. Implicit attitudes are those outside of our consciousness. We are often not aware that we have them.

Question

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
The correct answer is B. Implicit attitudes tend to develop because we are exposed to social and cultural norms. Even if we are not conscious of these beliefs, we often internalize them at some level.

Question

bKhKLkY2CNAyfgg711BFe9mtmZRAjOD5qRij5Ma4cdXoJ0PZ8n4JepFyzCFVCeyqxhs8Edxtjf/fnPfzOB/oe+nSln/m6n1x5RWRukSvb/AhM/NPV5sc656cQ4+4LR6v6hpLgLUtVH4jJKnL0MDvyi0uhtJXoK4LSE1xtWTHScT5bqKYM9gdVQaOzbSN/1fnG5MG82hrd38O5tWVNDbENCtEX9k2QlaM6xP8l3oU4mMY2sw5DqIyV8FtKqrAHq3LGnwXsU2Mjketv+lyWUtYL50xvOxWNcpzpOkpQlBwIKwDo9c8YeI28RHXy8mhTzbWX6nylLDlMDuseg5P9KAhZlTBFaJLZCxP7XewByHzYu/DFqFUaTrno415AQrQfofwZF4jtFqsElwmsd5Yu8qvue9ncud9t+LvX8/BEelgneSnkmOoZenjMenb0DiEOO+kyRgVL5/CWiE=
The correct answer is B. This is a correlational study because the researchers examined how strongly two variables—implicit attitudes and educational decisions—are related to, or associated with, each other.

Question

eMGJSyn3RwSp1eHoWIDpvDAYShI1JXM5mMnhBHeOtoZbOOcKDKwTe4jWrLqDV3g1rx0frRq/VmgLryVjO+YjUbtYo/riF7Lx2b9aK/cksApF1updTjHU0JXUFhmYkYae/GH6KJWZYq7Jz8j7+GTjICz8duYJKenICReEEYPygwA7tcsSVnTVsB703SX8204ScxHuFcsq6aoa+ZTLjt62tmyNiNvogoP9yMrlTDCILmSJx/6cNu8UiK41wPdQa5LiVNNp6m87LLUZpvImQ1zibVgoQrp5/S/sXLOCDin+QPYZkXLPzkyud6WvFbHhpGXZm1PMsT2gf5qhplDCkoWeqwjwHqNZtWRSLokiLcA26f/8HomIxUW8ERvkQXt1nvNz19e4s/7ouPz5cvBMaJq80vPMNVFIkN5B
The correct answer is A. Negative implicit and explicit attitudes represent biases. Gender roles include attitudes, but also behaviors and personality characteristics that we think of as masculine or feminine. Gender identity is our sense of self as female or male, and sexual orientation relates to the direction of our romantic attractions.

Question

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
The correct answer is B. It is possible that we respond more quickly to situations with which we are more familiar. We are more likely to see male scientists than female scientists, which might be a reason that we can pair words related to men with words related to science more quickly than to words related to the humanities.