The Development of Stereotypes Associating Gender and Intellectual Ability

• In Event: 31.036 - The Role of Gender in Shaping Mathematics Trajectories

Abstract

Background
Success in mathematics is commonly thought to require a special talent or “brilliance” (e.g., Chestnut, Lei, Leslie, & Cimpian, 2018; Rattan, Good, & Dweck, 2012). If children hold stereotypes that associate brilliance with some groups over others, that could affect their attitudes toward math, as well as their achievement. One such stereotype is the common association of brilliance with men rather than women (e.g., Tiedemann, 2000), which could be harmful to girls. Recent evidence suggests that the association between brilliance and men is acquired surprisingly early: Bian, Leslie, and Cimpian (2017) asked 5- to 7-year-old children to select the “really, really smart person” from pairs of men and women. With age, children were increasingly likely to associate men over women with brilliance. 
Objective
The initial research on this topic was limited in three respects: (1) The children were recruited from a single location (a Midwestern US city), so it is unclear whether the acquisition of this “brilliance = men” stereotype generalizes across cultural/geographic contexts; (2) the stimuli consisted entirely of white men and women, so it is unclear whether children apply this stereotype to other ethnic groups; and (3) the majority of the children tested were white, so it is unclear whether children of different ethnic backgrounds also show this stereotype. The objective of the present study is to explore the generality of the “brilliance = men” stereotype along these three dimensions. 
Method
We recruited 195 children (Mage = 5.78 years; 8 black, 48 Hispanic, 60 white, 9 Asian, 32 multiracial, and 38 for whom we did not have demographic information) from two public schools in New York City. Children selected the “really, really smart” person from 8 pairs that consisted of a white man and white woman or a black man and black woman. These pairs were presented in random order and interspersed with 4 same-gender pairs as fillers. 
Results
We found that (1) even in this new sample, children’s overall selection of white men over white women increased with age (p < .05), from 43% (at chance) at age 5 to 60% (significantly above chance) at age 7. However, (2) children did not extend the “brilliance = men” stereotype to black men; their selection of black men (vs. black women) remained at chance between ages 5 and 7. Finally, (3) black and Hispanic children did not show a “brilliance = men” stereotype at all, not even with respect to white men (36% selections at age 5, 46% at age 7). 

Conclusion
In sum, these results suggest that (1) the early acquisition of children’s “brilliance = men” stereotype generalizes across geographic/cultural contexts, but (2) children do not extend this stereotype to black men. Moreover, (3) black and Hispanic children may not show this stereotype at all, or at least not before age 7. These results fill in important information about the acquisition of the stereotype that associates brilliance with men, and about the groups that might be most vulnerable to its exclusionary implications about success in math. 

Authors

• Jilana Jaxon, New York University

• Ryan Lei

• Reut Vraneski-Shachnai

• Andrei Cimpian