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Only a Burden for Females in Math? Gender and Domain Differences in the Relation Between Adolescents' Fixed Mindsets
Anke Heyder1, Anne F Weidinger2, Ricarda Steinmayr2
1Department of Psychology, Technical University Dortmund, Emil-Figge-Str. 50, D- 44227, Dortmund, Germany. anke.heyder@tu-dortmund.de.
Abstract:
Gendered occupational and educational choices have often been traced back to gender differences in students' domain-specific ability self-concept and intrinsic motivation. This study explored the role of believing in an "innate" math or language arts ability (i.e., having a fixed mindset) for gender differences in students' ability self-concept and intrinsic motivation in 423 female (49%) and 447 male (51%) tenth graders from Germany (age M = 16.09 years, SD = 0.68, range: 14-18 years). In line with math-male stereotypes, believing in "innate" math ability was associated with lower ability self-concept and intrinsic motivation in female but not male students. In language arts, students' mindsets were unrelated to their motivation. The results suggest that a fixed mindset presents an additional burden for female students in math, but not for male or female students in language arts.
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