Abstract

We investigated implicit associations between social categories female or male and the attributes sex or science. In six experiments, Implicit Association Tests (IATs) showed female + sex/male + science associations. The bias was observed (a) in both men and women; (b) in participants who reported sexual attraction to both females and males (greater for the former); (c) in members of the general population as well as among STEM faculty from the highest ranked U.S. STEM universities; (d) even when both gender categories were clearly presented as scientists, via photos and words, (e) using both the standard IAT and a single category variation; and (f) hardly at all on explicit measures in contrast to implicit measures. By introducing the attribute of sexuality, these studies bring to light a robust if unintended mental association of women as sexual beings. The automaticity and surprising generality of the effect suggests that this association may be an unintentional yet potent barrier to women’s lower representation and success in STEM.

摘要

我们调查了女性或男性社会类别与性别或科学属性之间的隐含关联。在六个实验中，内隐关联测试 (IAT) 显示女性 + 性/男性 + 科学协会。(a) 在男性和女性中都观察到了这种偏见；(b) 在报告对女性和男性都有性吸引力的参与者中（前者更大）；(c) 在普通人群以及来自美国排名最高的 STEM 大学的 STEM 教师中；(d) 即使两个性别类别都通过照片和文字清楚地呈现为科学家，(e) 同时使用标准 IAT 和单一类别变体；(f) 与隐性措施相比，几乎没有关于显性措施。通过引入性的属性，这些研究揭示了女性作为性存在的一种强烈的、即使是无意的心理联系。这种效应的自动性和令人惊讶的普遍性表明，这种关联可能是女性在 STEM 中较低的代表性和成功的一个无意但强大的障碍。