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Stereotype Threat and Female Success in Introductory Courses

Fri, January 18, 9:30 to 10:50am, JW Marriott Austin, Salon G

Abstract

Numerous studies attempt to explain why women are underrepresented in national and state government. The fact is that women are less likely to run for office than men (Lawless and Fox 2010), and with fewer women on the ballot, elected officials are likely to be male. This, in turn, leads to textbooks, news articles, and class examples that feature male politicians. Images and examples create a sense that people belong or do not belong to a group, thus contributing to stereotypes that outsiders will not succeed. Based upon stereotype threat mitigation research in psychology, math, and hard sciences, this paper will examine whether images and examples in introductory political science classes increase success for female students by inducing stereotype lift (McIntyre, Paulson, & Lord, 2003). Are female students more likely to succeed when the class subtly utilizes more examples of female politicians?

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