blockinggenderbias-research

Relevant Research

Original Study

Miyake, A., Kost-Smith, L. E., Finkelstein, N. D., Pollock, S. J., Cohen, G. L., & Ito, T. A. (2010). Reducing the gender achievement gap in college science: A classroom study of values affirmation. Science, 330(6008), 1234-1237.

Summary

To test whether a so-called values-affirmation task would improve women’s grades in STEM, psychologist Akira Miyake and colleagues assigned 399 students in a college physics class to one of two groups. Students in the values-affirmation group spent 15 minutes in the first week of class writing about their most important values, while students in the control group wrote about their least important values. Before the midterm exam, students once again wrote about either their most or least treasured values. Students remained in the same condition for both assignments.

All students also completed a survey measuring how much they believed the stereotype that men are better than women in science and math.

At the end of the course, the researchers found that women in the values-affirmation group earned higher test scores than did women in the control group. Indeed, women who wrote about their core values scored nearly on par with the men in the class. In addition, the intervention worked better for women who more strongly endorsed the stereotype that men are better than women.

Why This Works

When people express their values, their sense of self-worth improves, which helps reduce stress, improve performance, and protect them from negative stereotypes about their group.

When This Works Best

This intervention works best for women who believe the stereotype that men are better than women in STEM.

Additional Research

Cohen, G. L., Garcia, J., Apfel, N., & Master, A. (2006). Reducing the racial achievement gap: A social-psychological intervention. Science, 313(5791), 1307-1310.

Cohen, G. L., Garcia, J., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Apfel, N., & Brzustoski, P. (2009). Recursive processes in self-affirmation: Intervening to close the minority achievement gap. Science, 324(5925), 400-403.

Shnabel, N., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Cook, J. E., Garcia, J., & Cohen, G. L. (2013). Demystifying values-affirmation interventions: Writing about social belonging is a key to buffering against identity threat. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(5), 663-676.

In the Media

Discover: 15-minute writing exercise closes the gender gap in university-level physics

See Also

SPARQ Solutions Catalog: This Quick Writing Task Lifts Women’s Science Grades

Video: The Science Behind the Blocking Gender Bias Toolkit (previously known as Breaking Bias)

Diversity and Inclusion Toolkits Collection