Creating a critical mass eliminates the effects of stereotype threat on women's mathematical performance

Pennington, Charlotte R.; Heim, Derek

Abstract

© 2016 The British Psychological Society. BACKGROUND: Women in mathematical domains may become attuned to situational cues that signal a discredited social identity, contributing to their lower achievement and underrepresentation.AIM: This study examined whether heightened in-group representation alleviates the effects of stereotype threat on women's mathematical performance. It further investigated whether single-sex testing environments and stereotype threat influenced participants to believe that their ability was fixed (fixed mindset) rather than a trait that could be developed (growth mindset).SAMPLE AND METHOD: One hundred and forty-four female participants were assigned randomly to a self-as-target or group-as-target stereotype threat condition or to a control condition. They completed a modular arithmetic maths test and a mindset questionnaire either alone or in same-sex groups of 3-5 individuals.RESULTS: Participants solved fewer mathematical problems under self-as-target and group-as-target stereotype threat when they were tested alone, but these performance deficits were eliminated when they were tested in single-sex groups. Participants reported a weaker growth mindset when they were tested under stereotype threat and in single-sex groups. Moreover, evidence of inconsistent mediation indicated that single-sex testing environments negatively predicted mindset but positively predicted mathematical performance.CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that single-sex testing environments may represent a practical intervention to alleviate stereotype threat effects but may have a paradoxical effect on mindset.

Citation

Pennington, C. R., & Heim, D. (2016). Creating a critical mass eliminates the effects of stereotype threat on women's mathematical performance. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(3), 353-368. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12110

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 18, 2016
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Sep 12, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 12, 2017
• Journal: The British journal of educational psychology
• Print ISSN: 0007-0998
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-8279
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 86
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 353-368
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12110
• Keywords: stereotype threat, social identity, single-sex classrooms, critical mass, mindset
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/913240
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12110