Greater Understanding of Gender Differences

 

 

by Lillie Mucha

Some research on Carol S. Dweck led me to confirm that she was the first researcher to coin and popularize the fixed mindset and growth mindset theories (Popova, 2014). It was very helpful for me to read about these theories from the original researcher. After reading “Is Math a Gift? Beliefs that put Females at Risk” by Dweck, a lot of my own opinions about sex differences and stereotypes were refined. I strongly believe that the mindset theories help explain a significant part of the debate over women in science.

Dweck’s Research

Dweck explains that her research on children’s reactions to challenges helped her to notice a trend among bright female participants. The higher a female participant’s IQ score, the worse she performed on the challenging task. In comparison, “the higher [a male participant’s] IQ, the better they learned” (47). Since the bright female participants did much better when the task was not as confusing of a challenge, Dweck reasoned that what was influencing the participants was not a poor ability but a flawed mindset.

Dweck’s next interest was to find the root of the problem, in an attempt to change it (48). Her idea was that in a fixed mindset, people thought of intelligence as a constant ability that was either theirs or not, whereas in a growth mindset, people thought of intelligence as maleable and developed (48). Studying the theory further, she determined that two groups of females experienced different changes. Those who learned with a fixed mindset experienced the stereotypical gender gap in which males outperformed them, but those with a growth mindset performed just as well as the males in their grade. Further studies showed that fixed mindsets can make one more vulnerable to conforming to stereotypes (50), but education about the brain and mindsets can significantly reduce the gender gap between male and female students as it emerges in the beginning of high school (51).

Framing My Opinion

This reading gave me a lot of information. Before reading the essay, I was under the impression that a fixed mindset is bad and a growth mindset is bad, and that more female people develop fixed mindsets and more male people develop growth mindsets. However, those aren’t the implications that I got from the research now. It seems that both men and women can develop each kind of mindset, but the way in which it interferes with their life is different.

For females, some stereotypes I’ve heard often are that they are more emotional, are expected to work raising children, and are friendly. For males, the opposites often apply: more logical, expected to work making money, and are imposing. It is sensical that when one believes that peoples’ abilities are neatly placed in boxes, it can be easier to feel like you yourself are being placed in a box. I think it’s critical to understanding the issue of women in science to understand that mindsets influence people’s performance.

Works Cited

Popova, Maria. “Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives”. Brain Pickings. 29 January 2014. Web. 9 September 2015. <http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset>

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