Exploring Effort Source Beliefs as a Predictor of Biased Judgments About Women’s Effort in Math (Poster 10)

• In Event: Sunday Poster Session 3:05 pm
  In Poster Session: Perspectives on Learning and Development: Exploring Motivations, Cognition, and Contextual Factors

Abstract

The present study examines whether effort source beliefs (i.e., beliefs about whether effort is elicited by task difficulty or by students’ motivation) help explain why some individuals may be particularly likely to perceive women as working harder than men to succeed on math tasks. Participants (N = 211) responded to vignettes in which a student with a typical woman or man’s name received a particular score on a math exam or homework assignment. For each vignette, they were asked to rate the student’s effort and ability. Later they completed measures of effort source beliefs and stereotype endorsement. Although our primary hypotheses were not supported, exploratory analyses indicated that effort source beliefs may contribute to biased judgments in specific contexts/situations.

Authors

• RoseMarie Rohrs, Boston College

• Sidney C. May, Dartmouth College

• David B. Miele, Boston College