ABSTRACT

While visiting a science museum, mothers (N = 125) and their 4- to 7-year-old children were recruited to read one of four versions of an educational storybook. These storybooks detailed either male-dominated careers (i.e., STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) or female-dominated careers (i.e., HEED: health, early education, and domestic roles), and they featured either a male protagonist or a female protagonist. Results indicated that the STEM storybook led mothers to perceive STEM careers as more suitable for their children, and it led girls to express more interest in STEM careers. However, there was some indication that mothers directed more discouraging comments toward their children (e.g., “You don’t like that”) while reading the HEED storybook, especially when it featured a male protagonist. This version also led boys to express less interest in HEED careers. These results suggest that exposure to stories with stereotype-defying characters can benefit girls, yet sometimes backfire among boys. Given the context of the study (i.e., a science museum), it remains possible that these results only apply to children from relatively advantaged backgrounds (i.e., higher family income and education). Accordingly, future research will need to examine whether these results differ among children from less advantaged backgrounds.

摘要

在参观科学博物馆时，妈妈们（N= 125) 和他们 4 到 7 岁的孩子被招募来阅读教育故事书的四个版本之一。这些故事书详细介绍了男性主导的职业（即 STEM：科学、技术、工程和数学）或女性主导的职业（即 HEED：健康、早期教育和家庭角色），它们的主角不是男性，就是一个女主角。结果表明，STEM 故事书让妈妈们认为 STEM 职业更适合她们的孩子，并导致女孩对 STEM 职业表现出更多的兴趣。然而，有一些迹象表明，母亲在阅读 HEED 故事书时对孩子发表了更多令人沮丧的评论（例如，“你不喜欢那样”），尤其是当它以男性为主角时。这个版本也导致男孩对 HEED 职业的兴趣减少。这些结果表明，接触刻板印象人物的故事可以使女孩受益，但有时在男孩中会适得其反。鉴于研究的背景（即科学博物馆），这些结果仍有可能仅适用于来自相对有利的背景（即更高的家庭收入和教育）的儿童。因此，未来的研究将需要检查这些结果在来自弱势背景的儿童中是否存在差异。