Cognitive consistency and math-gender stereotypes in Singaporean children - PubMed

Cognitive consistency and math-gender stereotypes in Singaporean children

Dario Cvencek et al. J Exp Child Psychol. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

In social psychology, cognitive consistency is a powerful principle for organizing psychological concepts. There have been few tests of cognitive consistency in children and no research about cognitive consistency in children from Asian cultures, who pose an interesting developmental case. A sample of 172 Singaporean elementary school children completed implicit and explicit measures of math-gender stereotype (male=math), gender identity (me=male), and math self-concept (me=math). Results showed strong evidence for cognitive consistency; the strength of children's math-gender stereotypes, together with their gender identity, significantly predicted their math self-concepts. Cognitive consistency may be culturally universal and a key mechanism for developmental change in social cognition. We also discovered that Singaporean children's math-gender stereotypes increased as a function of age and that boys identified with math more strongly than did girls despite Singaporean girls' excelling in math. The results reveal both cultural universals and cultural variation in developing social cognition.

Keywords: Cognitive consistency; Gender; Mathematics; Self-concept; Social cognition; Stereotypes.

Similar articles

• Math-gender stereotypes in elementary school children.

  Cvencek D, Meltzoff AN, Greenwald AG. Cvencek D, et al. Child Dev. 2011 May-Jun;82(3):766-79. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01529.x. Epub 2011 Mar 9. Child Dev. 2011. PMID: 21410915

• Chilean kindergarten children's beliefs about mathematics: Family matters.

  Del Río MF, Strasser K, Cvencek D, Susperreguy MI, Meltzoff AN. Del Río MF, et al. Dev Psychol. 2019 Apr;55(4):687-702. doi: 10.1037/dev0000658. Epub 2018 Dec 20. Dev Psychol. 2019. PMID: 30570298

• Girls' math performance under stereotype threat: the moderating role of mothers' gender stereotypes.

  Tomasetto C, Alparone FR, Cadinu M. Tomasetto C, et al. Dev Psychol. 2011 Jul;47(4):943-9. doi: 10.1037/a0024047. Dev Psychol. 2011. PMID: 21744956

• What does gender has to do with math? Complex questions require complex answers.

  Girelli L. Girelli L. J Neurosci Res. 2023 May;101(5):679-688. doi: 10.1002/jnr.25056. Epub 2022 Apr 20. J Neurosci Res. 2023. PMID: 35443070 Review.

• Gender Stereotypes and Discrimination: How Sexism Impacts Development.

  Brown CS, Stone EA. Brown CS, et al. Adv Child Dev Behav. 2016;50:105-33. doi: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2015.11.001. Epub 2016 Jan 27. Adv Child Dev Behav. 2016. PMID: 26956071 Review.

Cited by

• Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability in Japanese children.

  Okanda M, Meng X, Kanakogi Y, Uragami M, Yamamoto H, Moriguchi Y. Okanda M, et al. Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 11;12(1):16748. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-20815-2. Sci Rep. 2022. PMID: 36220825 Free PMC article.

• The effect of gender stereotypes on young girls' intuitive number sense.

  Gonzalez AM, Odic D, Schmader T, Block K, Baron AS. Gonzalez AM, et al. PLoS One. 2021 Oct 28;16(10):e0258886. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258886. eCollection 2021. PLoS One. 2021. PMID: 34710140 Free PMC article.

• Emotions and mathematics: anxiety profiles and their influence on arithmetic performance in university students.

  Rossi S, Xenidou-Dervou I, Cipora K. Rossi S, et al. R Soc Open Sci. 2023 Oct 11;10(10):230861. doi: 10.1098/rsos.230861. eCollection 2023 Oct. R Soc Open Sci. 2023. PMID: 37830022 Free PMC article.

• The Development of Social Categorization.

  Rhodes M, Baron A. Rhodes M, et al. Annu Rev Dev Psychol. 2019 Dec;1:359-386. doi: 10.1146/annurev-devpsych-121318-084824. Annu Rev Dev Psychol. 2019. PMID: 33103119 Free PMC article.

• Exposure to stereotype-relevant stories shapes children's implicit gender stereotypes.

  Block K, Gonzalez AM, Choi CJX, Wong ZC, Schmader T, Baron AS. Block K, et al. PLoS One. 2022 Aug 3;17(8):e0271396. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271396. eCollection 2022. PLoS One. 2022. PMID: 35921291 Free PMC article.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

• Full Text Sources

  • Elsevier Science

• Other Literature Sources

  • scite Smart Citations