National Disparities Favoring Males Are Reflected in Girls' Implicit Associations About Gender and Academic Subjects.

Based on data for N = 2,756 children (1,410 girls; M = 8.10 years) from 16 data sets spanning five nations, this study investigated relations between national gender disparities and children's beliefs about gender and academic subjects. One national-level gender disparity involved inequalities in so...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental Psychology Vol. 61; no. 3; pp. 579 - 594
Main Authors: Cvencek, Dario, Sanders, Elizabeth A., del Río, M. Francisca, Susperreguy, María Inés, Strasser, Katherine, Brečić, Ružica, Gaćeša, Dora, Skala, David, Tomasetto, Carlo, Galdi, Silvia, Cadinu, Mara, Kapur, Manu, Passolunghi, Maria Chiara, Rueda Ferreira, Tania I., Mirisola, Alberto, Mariani, Beatrice, Meltzoff, Andrew N.
Format: Article
Published: American Psychological Association Mar2025
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=183291144&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ssf
    uiTerm: 183291144
    longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson)
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        00121649
        DPS
      jtl: Developmental Psychology
      issn: 00121649
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Mar2025
      vid: 61
      iid: 3
      pid: 34
      pub: American Psychological Association
    artinfo:
      ui:
        183291144
        10.1037/dev0001797
      ppf: 579
      ppct: 15
      formats:
      tig:
        atl: National Disparities Favoring Males Are Reflected in Girls' Implicit Associations About Gender and Academic Subjects.
      aug:
        au:
          Cvencek, Dario
          Sanders, Elizabeth A.
          del Río, M. Francisca
          Susperreguy, María Inés
          Strasser, Katherine
          Brečić, Ružica
          Gaćeša, Dora
          Skala, David
          Tomasetto, Carlo
          Galdi, Silvia
          Cadinu, Mara
          Kapur, Manu
          Passolunghi, Maria Chiara
          Rueda Ferreira, Tania I.
          Mirisola, Alberto
          Mariani, Beatrice
          Meltzoff, Andrew N.
        affil:
          Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington
          Department of Measurement and Statistics, College of Education, University of Washington
          Millennium Nucleus for the Study of the Development of Early Math Skills, Santiago, Chile
          Faculty of Education, Universidad Diego Portales
          Faculty of Education, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
          School of Psychology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
          Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb
          Department of Psychology, University of Bologna
          Department of Psychology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli
          Department of Developmental and Socialization Psychology, University of Padua
          Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
          Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste
          Hattiva Lab Cooperativa Sociale, Udine, Italy
          Department of Psychology, University of Palermo
          Cambiavento Associazioni di Promozione Sociale, Cesena, Italy
          Department of Psychology, University of Washington
      su:
        Reading
        Sexism
        Elementary schools
        Socioeconomic factors
        Sex distribution
        Age distribution
        Social perception
        Gender inequality
        Academic achievement
        Social classes
        Mathematics
      sug:
        subj:
          Reading
          Sexism
          Elementary schools
          Socioeconomic factors
          Sex distribution
          Age distribution
          Social perception
          Gender inequality
          Academic achievement
          Social classes
          Elementary and Secondary Schools
          Mathematics
      keyword:
        age differences
        Child Implicit Association Test
        gender stereotypes
        implicit social cognition
        societal gender inequalities
        age differences
        Child Implicit Association Test
        gender stereotypes
        implicit social cognition
        societal gender inequalities
      ab: Based on data for N = 2,756 children (1,410 girls; M = 8.10 years) from 16 data sets spanning five nations, this study investigated relations between national gender disparities and children's beliefs about gender and academic subjects. One national-level gender disparity involved inequalities in socioeconomic standing favoring adult males over females (U.N. Human Development Index). The other involved national-level gaps in standardized math achievement, favoring boys over girls (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Grade 4). Three novel findings emerged. First, girls' results from a Child Implicit Association Test showed that implicit associations linking boys with math and girls with reading were positively related to both national male advantages in socioeconomic standing and national boy advantages in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Second, these relations were obtained for implicit but not explicit measures of children's beliefs linking gender and academic subjects. Third, implicit associations linking gender to academic subjects increased significantly as a function of children's age. We propose a psychological account of why national gender disparities are likely to influence children's developing implicit associations about gender and academic subjects, especially for girls. Public Significance Statement: In an international study, we examined how national patterns of gender disparities relate to elementary school children's implicit associations between gender and academic subjects. The study involved 2,756 children from five countries. We found that, for girls, national variations in gender inequalities in socioeconomic status and academic achievement significantly predicted stronger implicit associations linking boys with math and girls with reading. Moreover, children's implicit associations linking gender and academic subjects significantly increased with age. The findings have implications for psychology, educational equity, and public policy.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: N
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N