Detail Page

Gender Differences in Physics 1: The Impact of a Self-Affirmation Intervention
written by Lauren E. Kost-Smith, Steven J. Pollock, Noah D. Finkelstein, Geoffrey L. Cohen, Tiffany A. Ito, and Akira Miyake
Prior work at CU-Boulder has shown that a gender gap (difference in male and female performance) exists in both the pre- and post-course conceptual surveys, despite the use of interactive engagement techniques [Kost, et al., PRST-PER 5, 010101]. A potential explanation for this persistent gap is that stereotype threat, the fear of confirming a stereotype about one self, is inhibiting females' performance. Prior research has demonstrated that stereotype threat can be alleviated through the use of self-affirmation, a process of affirming one's overall self-worth and integrity [Cohen, et al., Science 313, 1307]. We report results of a randomized experiment testing the impact of a self-affirmation exercise on the gender gap in Physics 1. The gender gap on a conceptual post-survey is reduced from 19% for students who did not affirm their own values, to 9% for students who completed two 15-minute self-affirmation exercises at the beginning of the semester.
Physics Education Research Conference 2010
Part of the PER Conference series
Portland, Oregon: July 21-22, 2010
Volume 1289, Pages 197-200
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education Foundations
- Assessment
= Conceptual Assessment
- Societal Issues
= Gender Issues
- Lower Undergraduate
- Reference Material
= Report
= Research study
Intended Users Formats Ratings
- Researchers
- Professional/Practitioners
- application/pdf
- non-digital
  • Currently 0.0/5

Want to rate this material?
Login here!


Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3515197
Access Rights:
Limited free access and
Available for purchase
A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2010 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:
© 2010 American Institute of Physics
DOI:
10.1063/1.3515197
NSF Number:
0910373
PACSs:
01.40.Fk
01.40.G-
01.40.gb
01.75.+m
Keywords:
PERC 2010, conceptual learning, gender, introductory physics, self-affirmation, stereotype threat
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created October 29, 2010 by Alea Smith
Record Updated:
April 25, 2012 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
August 24, 2010
Other Collections:

ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link
AIP Format
L. Kost-Smith, S. Pollock, N. Finkelstein, G. Cohen, T. Ito, and A. Miyake, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10449&DocID=1908).
AJP/PRST-PER
L. Kost-Smith, S. Pollock, N. Finkelstein, G. Cohen, T. Ito, and A. Miyake, Gender Differences in Physics 1: The Impact of a Self-Affirmation Intervention, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10449&DocID=1908>.
APA Format
Kost-Smith, L., Pollock, S., Finkelstein, N., Cohen, G., Ito, T., & Miyake, A. (2010, July 21-22). Gender Differences in Physics 1: The Impact of a Self-Affirmation Intervention. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10449&DocID=1908
Chicago Format
Kost-Smith, L, S. Pollock, N. Finkelstein, G. Cohen, T. Ito, and A. Miyake. "Gender Differences in Physics 1: The Impact of a Self-Affirmation Intervention." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10449&DocID=1908 (accessed 1 May 2024).
MLA Format
Kost-Smith, Lauren E., Steven Pollock, Noah Finkelstein, Geoffrey L. Cohen, Tiffany A. Ito, and Akira Miyake. "Gender Differences in Physics 1: The Impact of a Self-Affirmation Intervention." Physics Education Research Conference 2010. Portland, Oregon: 2010. 197-200 Vol. 1289 of PER Conference. 1 May 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10449&DocID=1908>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{ Author = "Lauren E. Kost-Smith and Steven Pollock and Noah Finkelstein and Geoffrey L. Cohen and Tiffany A. Ito and Akira Miyake", Title = {Gender Differences in Physics 1: The Impact of a Self-Affirmation Intervention}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2010}, Pages = {197-200}, Address = {Portland, Oregon}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1289}, Month = {July 21-22}, Year = {2010} }
Refer Export Format

%A Lauren E. Kost-Smith %A Steven Pollock %A Noah Finkelstein %A Geoffrey L. Cohen %A Tiffany A. Ito %A Akira Miyake %T Gender Differences in Physics 1: The Impact of a Self-Affirmation Intervention %S PER Conference %V 1289 %D July 21-22 2010 %P 197-200 %C Portland, Oregon %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10449&DocID=1908 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %O July 21-22 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Kost-Smith, Lauren E. %A Pollock, Steven %A Finkelstein, Noah %A Cohen, Geoffrey L. %A Ito, Tiffany A. %A Miyake, Akira %D July 21-22 2010 %T Gender Differences in Physics 1: The Impact of a Self-Affirmation Intervention %B Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %C Portland, Oregon %V 1289 %P 197-200 %S PER Conference %8 July 21-22 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10449&DocID=1908


Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.

Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ.

Gender Differences in Physics 1: The Impact of a Self-Affirmation Intervention:


Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it.
Save to my folders

Contribute

Related Materials

Similar Materials