Just Like Me?: Adolescents’ Self-Concepts Moderate the Relationship Between STEM Stereotypes and Motivation

• In Event: 3-218 - Context matters for STEM outcomes: Factors that help or hinder underrepresented students in K-college education

Integrative Statement

Background
Professionals in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are often stereotyped as geniuses who are nerdy (Cheryan et al., 2013; Starr, in press). These stereotypes may demotivate some students from pursuing STEM. However, they may enhance motivation among students who feel that they fit the stereotype. Using balanced identity theory (Greenwald et al., 2002) and expectancy-value framework (Eccles & Wigfield, 1995; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002), we aimed to investigate the effect of nerd-genius stereotypes about people in STEM among high school students. We additionally investigated self-concepts, gender, and ethnicity as moderators of stereotypes’ relationship to competence and value beliefs.

Based on balanced identity theory, we expected that stereotype endorsement would be related to STEM competence and value beliefs. However, we anticipated the direction of the relationship would be moderated by a student’s own self-concepts. When a student’s self-concepts are congruent with a stereotype, we predicted it would be positively related to motivation, while when self-concepts are incongruent, we predicted holding the stereotype would be negatively related to the student’s motivation. Furthermore, we expected that when compared to boys and Asian/White students, girls and Black/Latinx students would be less likely to have self-concepts that matched the genius STEM stereotype due to existing stereotypes in our society (Leslie et al., 2015; Steele, 2010). Thus, we hypothesized the concordance between students’ nerd-genius stereotypes about STEM and self-concepts may help explain current gender gaps in STEM.

Method
Participants were 256 high schoolers (Mean age = 16, 59% girls, 20% Black or Latinx). Students filled out a survey about their self-concepts (nerd and genius), STEM nerd-genius stereotypes (Starr, in press), and STEM expectancy and value beliefs (Eccles & Wigfield, 1995).

Results
As expected, we found that girls and Black/Latinx high schoolers were significantly less likely to hold the genius self-concept when compared to boys and Asian/White participants (p < .05). The nerd stereotype had a significant negative main effect (p = 04) on value beliefs (but not competence beliefs). However, as expected, self-concept was a significant moderator (p = .04). Among those who viewed themselves as a nerd, holding the stereotype that people who work in STEM are nerdy was positively related to STEM value beliefs. Similarly, self-concept significantly moderated the relationship between the genius stereotype and STEM competence beliefs (but not value beliefs) (p = .004). Endorsing the stereotype that people in STEM are geniuses was positively related to STEM competence beliefs among those who held a genius self-concept, but negatively related among those who did not. Three-way interactions including gender and race were significant for the genius stereotype and the gender interaction was significant for the nerd stereotype.

Discussion
Nerd-genius stereotypes may work to demotivate those who do not view themselves as nerdy geniuses, while simultaneously motivating those who do. The nerd stereotype may especially effect student’s STEM value beliefs, while the genius stereotype effects STEM competence beliefs. Girls and Black/Latinx students may especially be negatively affected by the stereotypes, making them important to explore and address when considering gaps in STEM.

Authors

• Christine R. Starr, University of California, Santa Cruz
  Presenting Author

• Campbell Leaper, University of California, Santa Cruz
  Non-Presenting Author