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Gender bias triggers diverging science interests between women and men: The role of activity interest appraisals

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Abstract

Women leave science fields at greater rates than men, and loss of interest is a key motivator for leaving. Although research widely demonstrates effects of gender bias on other motivational processes, whether gender bias directly affects feelings of interest toward science activities is unknown. We used a false feedback paradigm to manipulate whether women (Study 1) and men (Study 2) participants perceived the reason for feedback as due to pro-male bias. Because activity interest also depends on how students approach and perform the activity, effects of biased feedback on interest appraisals were isolated by introducing gender bias only after the science activity was completed. When the feedback was perceived as due to pro-male bias, women (Study 1) reported lower interest and men (Study 2) reported greater interest in the science activity, and interest, in turn, positively predicted subsequent requests for career information in both studies. Implications for understanding diverging science interests between women and men are discussed.

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Notes

  1. Originally there were two pro-male bias conditions, attempting to disentangle stereotypes based on the individual feedback giver’s experience from general domain-based stereotypes. Participant feedback made clear that these conditions were not distinguishable; both were perceived as reflecting domain bias. Confirming that participants did not distinguish these conditions, we compared these conditions on all dependent variables and manipulation checks, finding no differences. Thus, we collapsed into a single pro-male bias condition.

  2. In both studies, no participant reported suspicion in the no feedback condition where individuals performed the activity separately then completed study measures. Among other conditions, the number of participants reporting suspicion was evenly spread, suggesting that participants were not differentially suspicious as a function of the reason for the feedback. In addition, nearly all cases of high suspicion (in both studies) occurred near the end of the academic semester, when there is greater likelihood that participants would have heard about the study from peers or have participated in previous studies that used deception. Participants who were dropped versus retained did not differ on any demographic or individual difference measures. Analyses were re-run including participants who reported high suspicion and all substantive findings were consistent with the reported results.

  3. In both studies we tested for but found no significant differences for any effects across confederates or experimenters.

  4. Pilot testing indicated that the stories were moderately difficult, with at least two answers as equally likely, and that the task was perceived as relevant for learning scientific content and reasoning, characteristics needed for plausibility of the manipulation.

  5. In this model we did not include tests for potential indirect effects of gender bias feedback on activity interest appraisals via perceived competence and competence value because these variables were not significantly predicted by the feedback manipulation (which establishes a lack of X to M relationship in a mediation model). We did conduct these indirect tests in a separate model, however, and as expected no indirect effects on activity interest were significant.

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  1. San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Dustin B. Thoman

  2. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Carol Sansone

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Thoman, D.B., Sansone, C. Gender bias triggers diverging science interests between women and men: The role of activity interest appraisals. Motiv Emot 40, 464–477 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-016-9550-1

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