Implicit Attitude Paper

Words: 1439
Pages: 6

Could one’s implicit attitudes about mathematics affect their attitudes towards other disciplines? Implicit attitudes and stereotypes about mathematics do not have to be available to conscious introspection in order to affects one’s performance or involvement in a given field. But could one’s implicit attitudes towards one field affect their attitude towards another? In this paper, we will examine whether there is an association between gender and math and whether it divides the sciences as well as types of philosophy along gender lines.
Implicit cognition can be defined as the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes that occur without conscious awareness or control. Essentially implicit cognition can affect one’s attitudes towards others as well as
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Stereotype threat is “the risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group” (Steele & Arnson, 1995). One specific form of stereotype threat is math-gender stereotype threat. Math-gender stereotype threat is a stereotype that suggests women have less mathematical aptitude and ability than men. Evidence suggests that math stereotype threat may account for the gender gap in mathematics.[insert references]. But, there is some good news. Gander gaps in math become smaller in more gender-equal societies and/or environments (Guiso et al., 2006, Nosek et al., 2009). Guiso et al. have shown that countries with higher gender gap indexes ( a gender gap index measures gender status within a society, where a higher GGI indicates more gender equality ) have less of a difference in math performance between genders. Other studies have shown that when stereotype threat was reduced, women with weak implicit bias performed better on math tests (Kiefer and Sekaquaptewa, 2007, Schmader, 2002, Spencer et al., 1999). Unfortunately, math stereotype has played a role in the underrepresentation in mathematics [