Gender Differences in Adolescents’ Attributions about Academic Performance (2012)

Undergraduate: Sonia Oakley

Faculty Advisor: Beth Kurtz-Costes
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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According to traditional gender stereotypes in the United States, boys are naturally better than girls at math, while girls are inherently more gifted than boys at English. In this study, I analyzed factors influencing the extent to which students' math and English attributions conform to these gender stereotypes. Information about math and English grades, ability attributions in math and English, endorsement of gender stereotypes, and felt pressure to act in gender-typical ways were collected from 173 10th grade students. No significant gender differences in math or English ability attributions were found. However, an interaction between gender and stereotype endorsement was observed for both math and English: stronger endorsement of gender stereotypes was associated with more stereotype-consistent attributions. Weak support for an effect of felt pressure was also found: higher felt pressure was associated with a stronger relationship between stereotype endorsement and stereotype-consistent attributions. These findings suggest that gender stereotype endorsement and felt pressure affect the ways in which boys and girls interpret their math and English performance, and are therefore important for understanding students’ academic motivation.