Poster #188 - Early Emergence of Gender Stereotypes about Intelligence: Evidence from Israeli Children

• In Event: 1-169 - Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Section - Sex, Gender

Integrative Statement

Various cultures tend to associate high levels of intelligence with men rather than women (Upson & Friedman, 2012). Notwithstanding its lack of scientific support, this ubiquitous stereotype consistently hinders women’s performance in fields considered to require raw intellectual talent (Schmader, 2002), and undermines their motivation to pursue various prestigious careers (Bian, Leslie, Murphy, & Cimpian, 2018). This adverse social reality does not go unnoticed by young girls. A recent study by Bian, Leslie, & Cimpian (2017) showed that by 6 years of age, American girls consider their own gender as less likely to be ‘really, really smart’ as compared to boys’ views of their own gender. The current study asked whether the early emergence of gender stereotypes about intellectual ability extends beyond American culture. We chose to examine this phenomenon among children from Israeli culture, as it resembles American culture in various measures of gender equality, including gender distribution across academic fields, the percent of women in the workforce, and the gender wage gap (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2015; National Science Foundation, 2015).

Participants were 75 (56% female) second grade Israeli children. Children were presented with pictures of same-gender and mixed-gender pairs and were asked to guess which of the two people depicted is ‘really, really smart’. The results showed that children’s choices of male targets as ‘really, really smart’ in the mixed-gender pair conditions (M = 57.6% of the time, SD = .28) were significantly more frequent than chance, t(74) = 2.34, p = .022. In a further analysis, we found that girls’ choices of their own gender as smart (M = 49.2%, SD = .26) were significantly less frequent than boys’ choices of their own gender (M = 66.4%, SD = .28; t(73) = 2.74, p = .008; Figure 1).

During middle childhood, children demonstrate a strong bias favoring their own gender (Susskind & Hodges, 2007). This bias is particularly salient in girls, who tend to view their gender in a more positive light than boys view their gender (Dunham, Baron, & Banaji, 2016). Our findings stand in marked contrast to this typical pattern, suggesting that even though girls are inclined to associate their gender with various positive traits, they are less inclined to do so for the trait of intelligence.

The finding that early gendered notions of intelligence cut across American and Israeli cultures may indicate that the presence of stereotypes and educational gender gaps, above and beyond specific cultural attributes, powerfully impact young girls’ perceptions of their own intellectual potential. Girls’ self-perceptions, in turn, may gradually restrict their educational horizons and prospective career trajectories (Bandura et al., 2001).

In the poster presentation, we will propose several evidence-based strategies that educators may implement to inoculate girls against cultural stereotypes about their intellectual ability, including instilling a growth mindset (Dweck, 2015), and surrounding them with strong female role models. Taken together, the results of this study call for cross-cultural research collaboration and joint educational effort with the aim of targeting the roots of universal academic gender gaps.

Authors

• Reut Vraneski-Shachnai, Cornell University
  Presenting Author

• Noa Rotman, Tel Aviv University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rachel Karniol, Tel Aviv University
  Non-Presenting Author