Math Gender Gap Not Result of Girls' Low Self-Esteem, Researchers Say

Are girls bad at math? From a talking Barbie doll saying "Math class is tough" to Larry Summers, the ex-President of Harvard University, speaking on the "different availability of aptitude," it's an issue that's seen plenty of controversy. As one of the most sensitive topics in education today, there's plenty of research on it, and even a body of research on the research.

A study to be published in Review of General Psychology, falls into the latter category. Its authors, David Geary of the University of Missouri and Giljsbert Stoet of the University of Leeds, find that if a gender gap in math test scores exists, it isn't a manifestation of the so-called "stereotype threat" theory, as many researchers seem to believe.

According to that theory, girls tend to perform worse on tests after they've been told they'll do poorly. Geary and Stoet found that past studies relying on the theory were flawed and lacking real evidence. This suggests that if girls are scoring worse than boys on standardized math tests, it's not because of their low self esteem.

In other words, don't blame ditzy Barbie.

The new finding suggests that it might make sense to scale back social programs designed to counter the stereotype threat. As Geary noted:

“The stereotype theory really was adopted by psychologists and policy makers around the world as the final word, with the idea that eliminating the stereotype could eliminate the gender gap...However, even with many programs established to address the issue, the problem continued. We now believe the wrong problem is being addressed.”

Geary and Stoat make no contention about the gender gap itself. Their study makes a strong case for ruling out a self esteem-based explanation of the gender gap, but an increasing number of scientists believe the gender gap is illusory in the first place.

Recent years have brought mounting evidence against the idea that, other things being equal, women are worse at math than men. A 2011 study published in Psychological Bulletin found evidence of gender gaps in various countries, but noted that in some countries, such as Jordan and Bahrain, girls had the edge.

Comments

[LL UNcool]

12:05 AM on 01/25/2012

I had terrible math teachers too and had a math phobia growing up (ok, I still do!!), I absolutely love this list of tips and advice for parents to expose girls to math and science at an early age.

Toys & Tips To Feed A Girl's Love Of Building, Math & Science
http://www.skinnyscoop.com/list/eden/toys-tips-to-feed-a-girls-love-of-building-math-science

[saaba]

12:43 PM on 01/24/2012

...but girls out-score boys in reading comprehension and English Language Arts, so for those of you keeping score, Girls and Boys are tied :)

[drbillybob]

02:51 PM on 01/23/2012

Almost certainly more important than the expression of individual Y-chromosomal genes are the secondary cascades that initiate pattern formation and neural network establishment. These developmental processes are controlled, to some extent, hormonally and employ the entire genome as a palette, not simply the Y-chromosome. I really have to ask, is a male-specific contribution to intellect or behavior even possible?

[KittyBee]

06:18 PM on 02/01/2012

You obviously, like many people, are only willing to believe what is most convenient for you. Brain structure is highly dependent upon the environmental inputs a person receives, and is not purely determined by genetics, i.e. plasticity and the nature/nurture interaction. You are well-versed in biology, so it seems like you should have learned about this. In any case, women have suffered social injustices and been treated as the lesser sex since the Bible (written by men) condemned women in the Adam and Eve story, and we continue to feel the effects of these injustices today. If you can put two and two together then you can see that the way we are treated and portrayed by our male counterparts easily has an effect on the structure of our brains, and therefore our abilities in certain areas. You refuse to see the issue in all of its complexity which, my friend, makes YOU an inept scientist.

[drbillybob]

10:42 AM on 01/23/2012

If I were to state that “men are taller than women” most reasonable people would agree. This clearly doesn’t mean that I’m taller than Janet Reno or that all women are shorter than Robert Reich. We all understand Gaussian distributions. The current argument is not about individuals but over the shape and midpoints of intellectual potential curves for men and women.

To assert that human intelligence, a far more intricate biological process than height, must be identical in the sexes seems unscientific and thus societal in its motivation. Wouldn’t the genetic complexity and rapid evolution of the human brain offer ample opportunity for sexual divergence?

[drbillybob]

10:14 AM on 01/23/2012

No matter what you wish to be true .. it is quite clear that male and female brains are different.

Brain imaging during cognitive tasks prove this to be the case ... and yes, gals, men do have access to genetic information that women do not - its called the Y-chromosome.

Sorry ...

[stopnlisten]

03:35 PM on 01/21/2012

This is one of those gray areas of life that won't be proven physically, mentally, or socially. You could have multiple studies but people are so diverse in backgrounds and experiences, that you can't pin down one variable. Opinion rules.

[drbillybob]

10:43 AM on 01/23/2012

Nonsense ...

We know now. We just can't say it ...

[roaddawg31]

01:14 PM on 01/21/2012

It's so ridiculous and ignorant to ignore things as truths, just because it might be politically incorrect (i.e. prejudiced). It's not a failing of women BTW, to say they aren't as good at math. It's just having sense, and being able to make observations. In school, who tend to be the more difficult in class? Boys. Who tends to be more studious (as young kids)? Girls. Who tends to be more inolved in sports? Boys.

Yes, boys appear to be more naturally apt at math. This is NOT to say that (individual) girls CAN'T succeed to the same heights as boys, or even that the difference is like night and day. But it's APPARENT, to anyone with sense and experience, that girls aren't normally as good at math as boys.

[frankenheimer]

01:37 PM on 01/22/2012

Cite some peer-reviewed studies, please.

[EArizona]

06:03 PM on 01/22/2012

That is complete and utter nonsense. I have been involved in the science and math community for a long time, and have found bias against girls and women from start to finish.
Women don't get into science as readily as men because prejudice still exists, and girls don't get nurtured because prejudice still exists. I can sight examples that I have seen over the course of my life.

[kaleyrd1]

01:10 AM on 01/21/2012

I'm a girl and I'm awful at math but I am great at history and english. Why? I had amazing english and history teachers and I had math teachers who didn't even understand their own lesson plan. I'm in college and I still have awful math teachers and great history teachers. That's the story with many of my peers as well.

[luapmi2]

05:02 AM on 01/22/2012

If I assume that you had twelve years of math education and that 30% of math teachers are bad, the probability that you had 12 bad teachers is less than one in a million.

You are either unlucky, OR, you stink at math.

[kaleyrd1]

11:09 AM on 01/22/2012

If most of my peers had the same experience, peers from different high schools all over the country then it is hardly a coincidence. 12 bad math teachers all for one person is not a coincidence. There are good math teachers out there but if you ask most students today who their worst teacher is, most of them will say their math teacher regardless of gender of you take it to that level.

[noahmarder]

04:54 AM on 01/24/2012

Only if bad math teachers are uniformly distributed. If there are two neighboring school districts with drastically different teacher salaries, one may have 10% bad math teachers while the other has 50%. Half of the acceptable math teachers at the poorer school may be used for accelerated, honors and AP courses, so if you are not in one of those classes, your odds of having a bad teacher are 2/3. It would still be unlikely to have 12 bad math teachers in a row, but not unfathomable.

[trueblueredstater]

05:35 PM on 01/22/2012

When my (very bright) daughter brought home her first-ever 'C' - and it was in math, I went straight to her teacher to find out why she did so badly (she got A's is everything else, and this was the only 'C' that she would ever get in her life). The math 'teacher' ( actually, a basketball coach filling out his class load) told me - and I quote "A C in math isn't bad - for a girl."

So, maybe - just maybe - institutional sexism might have something to do with this.
Oh, and once I asked the question "What do her mother and I need to do to help you teach her more effectively?" The problem went away. We monitored her homework & quizzes, and she was back up to all A's in no time.

If the parents care about the education of their daughter, even if she has a chauvinistic jerk for a teacher, she can still learn.

[EArizona]

06:09 PM on 01/22/2012

I had multiple teachers say to me, "You're just in this class to get a smart boyfriend/husband." I went on in every single class to be either the top student or the next to the top. Yes, sexism is rampant in schools, and some of us chose to use it as a driving force. I have always been good at math and science, and found many teachers trying to steer me away from the field.

[cbjones1943]

02:38 PM on 01/20/2012

1. I obtained a PDF of the article in question and read it.
2. I know the "stereotype threat" literature only from media reports.
3. The reputed mechanism is wildly popular as a "cause" (see language in Geary's paper) of racial gaps in testing, as well as sex differences in testing.
4. Geary's new paper and the theoretical import of some of his other results are likely to apply to the racial gap phenomenon.
5. Geary discusses some of the reasons that politically-correct (and mostly untested) ideas such as "stereotype threat" become popular.
6. Geary discusses some of the consequences of bad science for the groups (females, AfA) scoring relatively poorly compared to other groups (Americans of European Descent, Asians).
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cbjones1943

[AbstractionAction]

01:01 PM on 01/20/2012

It has NOTHING to do with Sex or Gender. It is ALL ABOUT motivation.

See, we of western science begin our studies from spurious axioms. The first could be "Children, if properly instructed, will want to learn Math." How about, Some People Couldn't Care Less About Number Games.

So our answer for raising children is to lock them up in a prison environment and come up with test metrics to see how well we are programming their brains. We forget, or don't care, that there is a "their" at all. It's just brains to these types of researchers.

[tom928]

12:02 PM on 01/20/2012

"You can throw nature out with a pitchfork, but it always comes running back." -- Horace.

[Tebra]

06:16 PM on 01/22/2012

And what is it that you need?

[lilpeg]

10:38 AM on 01/20/2012

Some of the best Math people I know are women. They work at it professionally, some are teachers (and really good ones too), some work in various industries. I try to keep my daughters engaged with Math in school for as long as I can. Both have done through Calculus...hope they will use their skills in their professional lives. Math is, after all, our most pure form of knowledge.

[mariner I]

08:35 AM on 01/21/2012

we live in a patriarchal society but things are changing and there will come a time when all of the artifice of the times will fade away to reveal the inherent value of each soul devoid of our labels. kids can pretty much do whatever they are encouraged to do. remove the barriers and hurdles that restrict and they will fly. the job of parents, teachers and even strangers is to encourage each child to find their voice and passion. then math won't be a problem for any child that needs those wings to fly

[reasonshouldrule]

10:03 PM on 01/22/2012

Good post, and that good time can't come soon enough.

[OldSchool4942]

10:29 AM on 01/20/2012

I taught physics and didn't see this at all. If anything I helped the male students more. The guys wanted to learn for the test and didn't learn how to work through problems. The girls wanted to learn how the problem worked.

[AbstractionAction]

01:02 PM on 01/20/2012

The problem is the format of schooling, not anything to do with the kids.

[cbjones1943]

02:54 PM on 01/20/2012

1. Any opinion, no matter how strongly felt, is subject to investigation with scientific methodologies.
2. Though I am not familiar with the primary literature in Geary's field, he is, maybe, arguably, the most highly regarded US psychologist currently researching sex differences. Please take the time needed to read his book published by the American Psychological Association.
3. "Fans" There are a few techno-industrial countries in which females, on average, score equal to or above males in math. As I understand it, in countries where females, on average, score higher in math than males ( eg Russia), females are, nonethless, clustered in the APPLIED rather than the BASIC fields of math-based disciplines (eg theoretical [mathematical] physics).
4. "Fans" In the US, I think some studies show that females may do better than males, on average, at some grade levels; but, not after a certain point.

[luapmi2]

05:04 AM on 01/22/2012

After your years of coaching, were you ever able to teach girls how to get the lid off a jar?

[OldSchool4942]

03:30 PM on 01/22/2012

Funny they never have a problem when they are alone, but when they get some lame guy to show off for them they may act helpless.

[reasonshouldrule]

10:04 PM on 01/22/2012

I have to get the lid off jars for my husband all the time. Seems I have a stronger grip.

[eledude]

09:32 AM on 01/20/2012

Math skills are not gender specific. A person has a knack for it or they don't. Gender has nothing to do with it.

[EArizona]

06:16 PM on 01/22/2012

Intelligence is inherited, so why not the ability for math?

[eledude]

12:31 AM on 01/23/2012

If math skills are inherited, it could be passed to a son, or a daughter. Like I said and my point is, math skills are not gender specific.

[J R M]

01:20 AM on 01/20/2012

Men have roughly the same mean capability in math as women, but have a larger standard deviation. This means that there will be more men than women at the very highest (and at the very lowest) skill levels. I think my daughter's college calculus in high school class has a roughly even sex ratio.

[luapmi2]

04:28 AM on 01/20/2012

Not if normalized z-scores are used......

[cbjones1943]

02:57 PM on 01/20/2012

Janet ? Hyde's work on the topics you discuss might interest you. I am reminded of a couple of her review papers in the journal, Science.