Replication Project- Expectation of Brilliance: Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability emerge early and influence children’s interests
Anisha Badri
11 December 2018
1 Background and original study
We come into this world with a set of expectations and preconceived notions attached to us based on certain gender stereotypes held by society at large. Before realising it- and this happens sooner than one would imagine- we find ourselves adhering to them and relying on them to guide us through important decisions in life (e.g., field of study ). Stereotypes often remain unchallenged as they are so ubiquitous and deeply etched in the fabric of society that they are eventually internalised in individuals’ minds, leaving them no choice but to continue in pursuit of goals governed by these labels and norms. Children, to an extent, form their self-concept depending on one’s cultural notions of femininity and masculinity. However, this can come at the cost of their self-esteem should they fail to conform (Bem, S. L. 1981). It also leads them to forego their natural inclination towards, and interests in certain areas in favour of those prescribed to them. This is particularly true in case of stereotypes regarding intellectual abilities or competence.
In a study conducted by Lin Bian, Sarah-Jane Leslie, and Andrei Cimpian (2017) to study how children’s interests are affected by gender stereotypes on intellectual ability, they found that children as young as 6 years old are aware of and uphold such stereotypes. It was revealed that 6 year old girls more often tend to shy away from activities that require intellectual competence due to their internalised belief that boys are “really, really smart” when compared to girls. To summarise, the findings suggest that expectations of brilliance are motivated by gender stereotypes that are recognised early on among children and have a significant impact on their interests. Bian et al., conducted four experiments which provided the aforementioned results. The second experiment will be elaborated on as it is the one chosen for the following replication project.
1.1 Study I
The prevalence of the “Brilliance = males” stereotype was assessed among 96 children (girls and boys= 32 each) aged between 5 and 7. They performed three tasks that involved identifying the gender of the protagonist in a story who is “ really, really smart” based on four pictures of unfamiliar adults, guessing which out of two same-gender or different gender adult was “ Really, really smart”, and completing three puzzles by selecting objects or attributes that corresponded to an unfamiliar adult, in that order. They also selected those they thought were “ really, really nice” as a contrast. The results showed that 6 and 7 year old girls did not associate brilliance with their own gender as often as boys did, reflecting a change in perception of brilliance from age 5 to 7 due to the influence of gender stereotypes.
1.2 Study II
The second study concentrated on a larger sample of children (N=144, 48 per age group) by administering tasks (i) and (ii) from the previous study.
However, in this case, participants rated adults and children alike.
Similar to study one, 5 year old boys and girls had more or less the same scores for same gender brilliance (Wald c2 = 0.01, P = 0.94), but a peak in differences was observed at age 6 (Wald c2 = 9.63, P = 0.002) which remained consistent regardless of the target (adult or child). In order to assess the cause of the dip in perceived intelligence among younger and older girls, there were four questions similar to the one designed to measure stereotypes ( e.g., which of four children, two boys and two girls, “Is the best student in school”). The results did not reveal any significant difference in scores between younger and older girls with regard to the probability of selecting girls as being the best student in school, which is in contrast to the dip in perceived brilliance scores. Additionally, they fund no correlation between girls’ perceptions of school achievement and their perceptions of brilliance (r = 0.11, P = 0.34; for boys: r = 0.38, P = 0.001). These results point out that there are also other factors at play that influence girls’ poor perception of their brilliance when compared to boys.
Graph representing results from studies I and II
1.3 Study III
The third study included 64 children aged 6 and 7 ( equal number of girls and boys) who were introduced to two games designed for those who are smart or those who try really hard . This was conducted to test whether gender stereotypes played a role in what children are interested in. Boys were more interested in the game for smart children but not the one for hard-working children. The results for girls aged 6 and 7 are similar to the first two studies. Thus, young children’s emerging notions about who is likely to be brilliant are one of the factors that guide their decisions about which activities to pursue.
1.4 Study IV
In the final study, children aged 5 and 6 (96 children; 48 per age group) were predicted to have more or less the same level of interest in the games as their ideas about brilliance are not yet differentiated. However, girls aged 6 were predicted show lower interest than boys, consistent with the results of study three. No significant gender differences in interest were found among 5-year-olds (Wald c2 = 0.55, P = 0.46).
Graph representing results of studies III and IV
2 Replication Project
2.1 Introduction
This project is a replication of the second study in Lin Bian, Sarah-Jane Leslie, and Andrei Cimpian’s investigation of how gender stereotypes on intellectual ability have an effect on children’s interests. The project has been approved by the Psychology Research Ethics Committee of the University of Edinburgh.
2.2 Method
This section provides a detailed account of the method used during the replication of Lin Bian, Sarah-Jane Leslie, and Andrei Cimpian’s study.
2.2.1 Participants
The participants in the pilot study of the replication project included two girls aged 8 and 11 respectively. The control group consisted of participants aged 22-26. The participants’ consent or assent were taken where necessary before they participated in the study.
2.2.2 Materials
The study was administered using an iPad that was controlled by the experimenter and participant together. The stories along with the pictures were displayed on screen and could be seen by both parties.
2.2.3 Procedure
Participants were initially asked for their consent or assent, followed by instructions that were given by one of the 3 experimenters regarding the iPad game. Participants were also made aware that they could withdraw at any time should they feel the need to and that all data collected up to that point would be discarded.
Once the experiment began, the first task concerned stories that were read aloud by an experimenter in such a way that the participant could also view the text on the iPad. The participant had to then choose one of the options based on who they thought the story was about. It was either about someone “ really, really smart”, or someone “ really, really nice”. The targets involved adults and children of both sexes.
In the second task,the participants had to choose one out of two pictures depending on who whether they thought the person is really smart or really nice.
In the final task, the participant chose one of two options related to who they thought performed the best in school. After the participants completed the experiment, they were debriefed regarding the nature of the study and were requested to provide feedback for future improvements of the study.
2.3 Analysis
2.3.1 Child Pilot Data
The pilot data was collected from two children aged 11 and 8 respectively ( both females). Both children showed preference for own gender brilliance in task (i) and there was no significant difference in preferences for the third task. It is difficult to assess the results of the second task as the questions are randomised but one cannot identify a preference for a particular gender.
2.3.2 Adult Pilot Data
Data was also collected from adults 5 adults (2 males, 3 females) aged between 22-26 years. Despite having a larger sample of adult data, it is still inadequate for a complete accurate statistical inference.based on the pictures selected, there was no preference for one gender over another, regardless of same gender brilliance scores of different gender among the males and females.
3 P- Curve
3.1 Study selection Rule
The studies considered for the p- curve analysis examined both overt and covert conformity to gender stereotypes regarding intellectual ability in children between the ages of 5 and 10 years.
Competence in mathematics is often equated to brilliance and intelligence; thus, mathematical adeptness is considered as a replacement for intellectual ability.
3.2 P- Curve Disclosure Table
p- curve Disclosure Table
3.3 P – Curve
P- Curve and p-value
3.4 Conclusion
In both p-curve analyses, the evidential value can be identified in the studies presented. The tests together are resistant to p-hacking and it is therefore hinted in the analyses that p-hacking could not be conducted for the studies presented.
Further, the p-curve also reveals that the studies do depict evidential values that are insufficient or non-existent.
The statistically common level of significance tends to be p= 0.05. A sizable portion of data gathered from the studies show p value to be < 0.02 ( 7 out of 8 studies), the other being p= 0.04; Hence, from this p-curve, one can detect the presence of a real effect.
4 JavaScript Code of iPad game
The interactive iPad game was designed using JavaScript in R and can be accessed using the link: http://hrexp.ppls.ed.ac.uk/class/alexandra/Ipad%20project%202/expectations.Rhtml
There is also an annotated version of the code below.
<html>
<head>
<title>Expectations of Brilliance</title>
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="jspsych-5.0.3/jspsych.js"></script>
<script src="jspsych-5.0.3/plugins/jspsych-text.js"></script>
<link href="jspsych-5.0.3/css/jspsych.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"></link>
<script src="jspsych-5.0.3/plugins/jspsych-button-response.js"></script>
<script src="jspsych-5.0.3/plugins/survey-text.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
<script>
# make sure plugins etc, are specified
# Code for saving Data
function saveData(filename, filedata){
$.ajax({
type:'post',
cache: false,
url: 'save_data.php',
data: {filename: filename, filedata: filedata}
});
}
# The following code provides the text for the consent form that appears before the participant begins the experiment. The Participant must then click on ‘Consent’ to start the game or ‘Decline’ to exit the game.
<!--Consent Block-->
var consent_block = {
stimulus: "<p>This research is being conducted by the students of PSYL11087 as part"+
" of their MSc degree. You have been asked to participate because you are"+
" a student on a PPLS MSc degree. The Instructor for this class, and supervisor"+
" for this project is Dr Hugh Rabagliati (hugh.rabagliati@ed.ac.uk)."+
" You can contact him by email at any time if you have questions.</p>" +
"<p> In this study, you will be asked to complete one of three tasks:</p>"+
"<ol>"+
"<li> You will listen to a set of spoken sentences embedded in background noise,"+
" and choose which of two pictures the sentence refers to.</li>"+
"<li> You will listen to a set of stories about children, and decide if they"+
" are smart or nice. Then, you will see some pictures of people and decide whether"+
" they look smart or nice.</li>" +
"<li> You will see pictures of people, and match those pictures up to either other pictures"+
" of objects or to specific words.</li></ol></p>"+
"<p></p>"+
"<p></p>"+
"<p>The only information collected will be your responses on this task, and your gender."+
" No identifying infomation about you will be collected. Participating in this study does "+
"not confer either benefits or risks. The study will take less than 10 minutes and "+
" there is no monetary compensation. You may stop participation at any time. This data will"+
" be analyzed and used as a coursework submission for the class PSYL11087.</p>"+
"<p> If you consent to participate, press the Consent button below. If you do not consent"+
" you may end the study or press the decline button.</p>",
is_html: true,
choices:['consent','decline'],
type: 'button-response'
};
# Code to welcome the participant and request basic information such as their serial number, age, and sex
<!-- Welcome screen -->
var welcome = {
type: 'button-response',
choices: ['Welcome to our game! Press to start.']}
var id = prompt('Please enter the participant number');
var sex = prompt('Please enter sex of participant.');
var age = prompt('Please enter age of participant.');
# Explaining the Experiment to the participant
<!-- TASK 1 STORIES: 4 stories/trials, 4 images in each trial, -->
var story_instructions = {
type: 'button-response',
choices: ['I am going to read you four stories. Then you are going to see pictures of people. <br> <br> I would like you to choose which person you think the story is about.']}
var story_stimuli = ['<img src="img/boy1.jpg" height="178px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/girl1.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/girl2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>']
var shuffled_story_stimuli = jsPsych.randomization.shuffle(story_stimuli)
# Code for stories along with options to select one picture out of four
var button_story_choices = [
{choices: ['girl1', 'girl2', 'boy1', 'boy2'],
button_html: [
'<img src="img/girl1.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/girl2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/><br>',
'<img src="img/boy1.jpg" height="178px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'When I was your age, there were lots of children at school where I went. But there was one child who was really special. This child was really, really nice. This child shared their toys with everyone else, and really cared about the other kids. This child was really, really nice.',
data:{condition:'nice'}
},
{choices: ['girl3', 'girl4', 'boy3', 'boy4'],
# Story 1
button_html: [
'<img src="img/girl3.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/girl4.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/><br>',
'<img src="img/boy3.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy4.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'When I was your age, there were lots of children at school where I went. But there was one child who was really special. This child was really, really smart.This child learned things very quickly and could answer the hardest questions. This child was really, really smart.',
data:{condition:'smart'}
},
{choices: ['man1', 'man2', 'woman1', 'woman2'],
# Story 2
button_html: [
'<img src="img/man1.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/man2.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/><br>',
'<img src="img/woman1.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/woman2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'There are lots of people at the place where I work. But there is one person who is really special. This person is really, really smart. This person figures out how to do things quickly and comes up with answers much faster and better than anyone else. This person is really, really smart.',
data: {condition: 'smart'}
},
{choices: ['man3', 'man4', 'woman3', 'woman4'],
# Story 3
button_html: [
'<img src="img/man3.jpg" height="177px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/man4.jpg" height="177px" width="250px"/><br>',
'<img src="img/woman3.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/woman4.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'There are lots of people at the place where I work. But there is one person who is really special.This person is really, really nice. This person likes to help others with their problems and is friendly to everyone at the office. This person is really, really nice.',
data: {condition: 'nice'}
}
]
# story 4
var button_story_timeline = jsPsych.randomization.shuffle(button_story_choices, 1);
var story_trial = {
is_html: true,
type: 'button-response',
choices: ['girl','boy','man','woman'],
button_html: shuffled_story_stimuli,
timeline: button_story_timeline
}
# Instructions for the second task
<!-- TASK 2 PICTURES: 8 questions, 4 nice? 4 smart? (2 children, 2 adults for each)-->
var story_instructions2 = {
type: 'button-response',
choices: ['Now I am going to ask you questions about people who are smart or nice. <br> <br> I would like you to tell me what you think the answer is.']}
var button_stimuli = ['<img src="img/boy1.jpg" height="178px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>']
var shuffled_button_stimuli = jsPsych.randomization.shuffle(button_stimuli)
var button_stimuli_choices = [
{
choices: ['girl','boy'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/girl1.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy1.jpg" height="178px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who is really, really nice?',
data: {condition: 'child'}
},
# Choice 1: Who is Nice? (child)
{
choices: ['boy','girl'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/girl2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who is really, really nice?',
data: {condition: 'child'}
},
# Choice 2: who is Nice? (child)
{
choices: ['girl','boy'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/girl3.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy3.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who is really, really smart?',
data: {condition: 'child'}
},
# Choice 3: Who is Smart? (Child)
{
choices: ['boy','girl'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/girl4.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy4.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who is really, really smart?',
data: {condition: 'child'}
},
# Choice 4: Who is Smart? (Child)
{
choices: ['man','woman'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/man1.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/woman1.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who is really, really nice?',
data: {condition: 'adult'}
},
# Choice 5: Who is Nice? (Adult)
{
choices: ['man','woman'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/man2.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/woman2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who is really, really nice?',
data: {condition: 'adult'}
},
# choice 6: Who is Nice? (Adult)
{
choices: ['woman','man'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/man3.jpg" height="177px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/woman3.jpg" height="177px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who is really, really smart?',
data: {condition: 'adult'}
},
# Choice 7: Who is Smart? (Adult)
{
choices: ['man','woman'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/man4.jpg" height="177px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/woman4.jpg" height="177px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who is really, really smart?',
data: {condition: 'adult'}
}
]
# choice 8: Who is Smart? (Adult)
var button_stimuli_timeline = jsPsych.randomization.shuffle(button_stimuli_choices, 1);
var second_trial = {
is_html: true,
type: 'button-response',
choices: ['girl','boy'],
button_html: shuffled_button_stimuli,
timeline: button_stimuli_timeline
}
# Code for Task 3 instructions: Questions regarding children’s achievements in school
<!---TASK 3: SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT: 2 questions about school achievement-->
var school_instructions = {
type: 'button-response',
choices: ['Finally, I am going to ask you some questions about school. I would like you to tell me who you think the answer is.']}
var school_stimuli = ['<img src="img/girl1.jpg" height="178px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>']
var shuffled_school_stimuli = jsPsych.randomization.shuffle(school_stimuli)
var button_school_choices = [
{
choices: ['girl','boy'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/girl1.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy1.jpg" height="178px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who gets the best marks in school?',
data: {condition: 'marks'}
},
# Choice 1: Condition- Marks
{
choices: ['boy','girl'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/girl2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/boy2.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who gets the best marks in school?',
data: {condition: 'marks'}
},
# Choice 2: Condition- Marks
{
choices: ['girl','boy'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/boy3.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/girl3.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who do you think is the best student?',
data: {condition: 'student'}
},
# Choice 3: Condition- Best student
{
choices: ['boy','girl'],
button_html: ['<img src="img/boy4.jpg" height="166px" width="250px"/>',
'<img src="img/girl4.jpg" height="167px" width="250px"/>'
],
stimulus: 'Who do you think is the best student?',
data: {condition: 'student'}
}
]
# Choice 4: Condition – Best student
var button_school_timeline = jsPsych.randomization.shuffle(button_school_choices, 1);
var school_trial = {
is_html: true,
type: 'button-response',
choices: ['girl','boy'],
button_html: shuffled_school_stimuli,
timeline: button_school_timeline
}
# Code for the end of the game, thanking the participant for taking part in the study
var thank_you = {
type: 'button-response',
choices: ['Thank you for taking part in our study!! Press to save.']}
<!--Save Data and Timeline-->
jsPsych.data.addProperties({subject: id,
sex: sex,
age: age});
jsPsych.data.addProperties({subject: sex});
jsPsych.data.addProperties({subject: age});
jsPsych.init({
timeline: [consent_block, welcome, story_instructions, story_trial, story_instructions2, second_trial,school_instructions, school_trial,thank_you],
on_finish: function(){saveData(id + ".csv", jsPsych.data.dataAsCSV());
}
});
# Code to finish, save data, and end the game
</script>
</body>
</html>5 Discussion
5.1 Difference between original study and replication project
The project aimed at replicating the second study of Lin Bian, Sarah-Jane Leslie, and Andrei Cimpian’s work on investigating the effect of gender stereotypes regarding intellectual ability on children’s interests.
For the most part, the replication project mimicked the original study. However, there were some differences between the two with respect to demographics.
The original study was conducted in the United States of America on American children aged between 5-7 years. Contrary to that, the replication projected intended to test the hypothesis on children in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Additionally, while the American children were aged between 5-7 years, the children that took part in the replication project were older ( 8 and 11 years).
5.2 Limitations and future modifications
Having received feedback from the participants after the study was administered, and through observation, it is evident that certain modifications have to be made to improve the game. Both the child participants reported that the questions and stories became redundant and predictable, which made it less exciting to take part in. This also made it possible for one of them to realise what information the experimenter was trying to gather . This is crucial as it would significantly impact the choices of the participants and the results. Therefore, replacing “ really smart” or “ really nice” with synonyms or other homogenous phrases would ensure that participants are engaged in the study and cannot decipher the aim as it would defeat the purpose of conducting such an experiment. This limitation also holds true for the original study.
Additionally, in the second task, the questions appeared in a random order but essentially aimed to get the same information. This made it difficult to assess which picture the participant chose.
Another noteworthy factor is the small sample size for the pilot data. This is particularly important because one cannot come to conclusions based on such a sample size and it limits the analytical process to identify only descriptive statistics.
6 References
Bem, S. L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing. Psychological Review, 88(4), 354-364.
Bian, L., Leslie, S. and Cimpian, A. (2017). Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability emerge early and influence children’s interests. Science, 355(6323), pp.389-391.
Cvencek, D., Kapur, M., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2015). Math achievement, stereotypes, and math self-concepts among elementary-school students in Singapore. Learning and Instruction, 39, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2015.04.002
Cvencek, D., Meltzoff, A. and Greenwald, A. (2011). Math-Gender Stereotypes in Elementary School Children. Child Development, 82(3), pp.766-779.
Cvencek, D., Meltzoff, A. N., & Kapur, M. (2014). Cognitive consistency and math-gender stereotypes in Singaporean children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 117(1), 73-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2013.07.018
Passolunghi, M. C., Rueda Ferreira, T. I., & Tomasetto, C. (2014). Math-gender stereotypes and math-related beliefs in childhood and early adolescence. Learning and Individual Differences, 34, 70-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2014.05.005