Development of Math Attitudes and Math Self-Concepts: Gender Differences, Implicit-Explicit Dissociations, and...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Gender differences in STEM fields are a persistent concern.
• Implicit attitudes, often unconscious, can influence behavior and beliefs.
• Understanding early attitudes is crucial for fostering math achievement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate gender differences in implicit and explicit math attitudes and self-concepts in young children.
• To examine the relationship between implicit/explicit math attitudes and actual math grades.
• To explore potential implicit-explicit dissociations in children's math beliefs.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 391 children from Grades 1 and 5 completed implicit and explicit measures of math attitudes and self-concepts.
• Math grades were collected for all participants.
• Multilevel analyses were employed to examine the data.

Main Results:

• First-grade girls exhibited a significantly negative implicit attitude toward math.
• No significant gender differences were found in math grades or explicit math attitudes.
• Explicit math attitudes predicted math grades; implicit attitudes additionally predicted variance in boys' grades.

Conclusions:

• Children, particularly girls in early grades, can display a dissociation between negative implicit and positive explicit math attitudes.
• These early-emerging implicit attitudes may serve as a foundation for later explicit attitudes and beliefs about mathematics.
• Findings highlight the importance of considering both implicit and explicit measures in understanding children's math-related psychology.