Ideas about intelligence across development : exploring the "brilliance = males" gender stereotype among undergraduates

• Main Author: Wong, Rachel Wen Xin
• Other Authors: Setoh Pei Pei
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73841
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

While many studies have been conducted to examine the emergence of group-specific stereotypes and general perceptions of gender differences, limited studies have explored gender stereotypes of intellectual abilities. Hence, this paper aims to investigate the prevalence of gender stereotypes of intellectual ability, where the concept of “brilliance” is expected to be more commonly associated with males, exploring factors (such as gender and familiarity of stimuli) which may influence this association and how it is expressed (implicitly and explicitly). A total of 184 Chinese undergraduates from Singapore were recruited for Studies 1 and 2 where an Implicit Association Test (IAT) was conducted with Chinese and Caucasian target stimuli respectively, followed by explicit scales measuring different dimensions of gender discrimination. The findings indicated that regardless of variations in target stimuli, there is a significant gender stereotype where males are more commonly associated with intellectual giftedness. Interaction effects between gender and familiarity of stimuli were found, which could be attributed to gender differences in in-group favoritism. Additionally, a comparison between the implicit and explicit results revealed a large difference in individuals’ outward expression of gender prejudice and how they perceive gender differences implicitly. These findings have implications in gender disparities in fields which places emphasis on raw intellectual brilliance, propagating a vicious cycle of gender discrimination.