Question Description
I’m working on a psychology writing question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.
Scholarly work often builds upon what has been done by others. This is perfectly ethical, presuming that the work is properly credited and there is a clear delineation between the writers original thought and what they are borrowing from others.
Review the following abstracts from three journal articles. Then, open a new Word document and, entirely in your own words, describe your understanding of gender self-stereotyping given this material.
Article 1 (Chiu et al., 1998):
Abstract: Recent research has shown that the presence of stereotype-relevant environmental cues can inadvertently bias people’s judgments of others in the direction of the stereotype. The present research demonstrated analogous activation effects on self-stereotyping. In two experiments, the effects of stereotype activation on the tendencies to stereotype others and to self-stereotype were examined. Experiment 1 tested whether incidental exposure to gender-related materials might activate gender stereotypes and hence affect perception of another person. Experiment 2 investigated gender stereotype activation effects on female and male high school students’ self-presentation behaviors. The results showed that incidental exposure to stereotype-relevant environmental cues increased both stereotyping and self-stereotyping tendencies. The findings were discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the basic principles of knowledge activation and application, and for reducing stereotyping and self-stereotyping. (p. 401)
Article 2 (Heyder & Kessels, 2013):
Abstract: One cause proposed for boys relatively lower academic achievement is a feminisation of schools that might result in a lack of fit between boys self-concept and academic engagement. Research so far has investigated math-male and language-female stereotypes, but no school female stereotypes. Our study tested for implicit gender stereotyping of school and its impact on boys achievement in N=122 ninth-graders from a large city in Western Germany using the Go/No-go Association Task (GNAT). Gender role self-concept and grades in math (representing an academic domain stereotyped as male) and German (domain stereotyped as female) were assessed using written questionnaires. It was found that, overall, students associated school more strongly with female than with male, and that this association of school with female was related to boys academic achievement. The more strongly boys associated school with female and the more they ascribed negative masculine traits to themselves, the lower their grades in German were. Boys academic achievement in math was unrelated to the extent to which they perceived school as feminine and themselves as masculine. Girls grades in both German and math were unrelated to their gender stereotyping of school. These findings emphasize the importance of fit between a students gender, gender role self concept and gender stereotyping of school for academic achievement. Strategies to improve this fit are discussed. (p. 605)
Article 3 (Hirnstein, Andrews, & Hausmann, 2014):
Abstract: Sex differences in specific cognitive abilities are well documented, but the biological, psychological, and sociocultural interactions that may underlie these differences are largely unknown. We examined within a biopsychosocial approach how gender stereotypes affect cognitive sex differences when adult participants were tested in mixed- or same-sex groups. A total of 136 participants (70 women) were allocated to either mixed- or same-sex groups and completed a battery of sex-sensitive cognitive tests (i.e., mental rotation, verbal fluency, perceptual speed) after gender stereotypes or gender-neutral stereotypes (control) were activated. To study the potential role of testosterone as a mediator for group sex composition and stereotype boost/threat effects, saliva samples were taken before the stereotype manipulation and after cognitive testing. The results showed the typical male and female advantages in mental rotation and verbal fluency, respectively. In general, men and women who were tested in mixed-sex groups and whose gender stereotypes had not been activated performed best. Moreover, a stereotype threat effect emerged in verbal fluency with reduced performance in gender stereotyped men but not women. Testosterone levels did not mediate the effects of group sex composition and stereotype threat nor did we find any relationship between testosterone and cognitive performance in men and women. Taken together, the findings suggest that an interaction of gender stereotyping and group sex composition affects the performance of men and women in sex-sensitive cognitive tasks. Mixed-sex settings can, in fact, increase cognitive performance as long as gender-stereotyping is prevented. (p. 1663)
