Gender Stereotypes and Peer Selection in STEM Domains Among Children and Adolescents

Overview

Journal Sex Roles

Date 2022 Nov 30

PMID 36447747

Authors

Luke McGuire

Adam J Hoffman

Kelly Lynn Mulvey

Adam Hartstone-Rose

Mark Winterbottom

Angelina Joy

Fidelia Law

Frances Balkwill

Karen P Burns

Laurence Butler

Marc Drews

Grace Fields

Hannah Smith

Adam Rutland

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Gender stereotypes are harmful for girls' enrollment and performance in science and mathematics. So far, less is known about children's and adolescents' stereotypes regarding technology and engineering. In the current study, participants' ( = 1,206, girls = 623; 5-17-years-old, = 8.63, = 2.81) gender stereotypes for each of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) domains were assessed along with the relation between these stereotypes and a peer selection task in a STEM context. Participants reported beliefs that boys are usually more skilled than are girls in the domains of engineering and technology; however, participants did not report gender differences in ability/performance in science and mathematics. Responses to the stereotype measures in favor of one's in-group were greater for younger participants than older participants for both boys and girls. Perceptions that boys are usually better than girls at science were related to a greater likelihood of selecting a boy for help with a science question. These findings document the importance of domain specificity, even within STEM, in attempts to measure and challenge gender stereotypes in childhood and adolescence.

Citing Articles

Children's and adolescents' evaluations of wealth-related STEM inequality.

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The perceived role fit of women and men academics: evidence from the social sports sciences.

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