"Arts, Faculty of"@en . "Psychology, Department of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "Dar Nimrod, Ilan"@en . "2009-11-21T21:00:25Z"@en . "2004"@en . "Master of Arts - MA"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "The theory of stereotype threat states that activating self-relevant stereotypes\r\ncan lead people to exhibit stereotype-consistent behavior. Stereotype threat most\r\ncommonly arises under circumstances in which a negative self-relevant\r\nstereotype is applicable, the person's membership in the stereotyped group is\r\nmade salient, and the person believes that their performance on a task will be\r\nevaluated.\r\nIt seems that a certain element in stereotypes conveys an inescapable expected\r\nbehavior to members of the stereotyped social group. Putting this assertion to\r\ntest we manipulated the perceived inevitability of a stereotype-related group\r\ndifference. Research on Nature vs. nurture causal attributions suggests that\r\npeople perceive genetic causes to be more inescapable than experiential ones.\r\nUsing a repeated measures design, causal attributions concerning gender-based\r\ndifferences in mathematical ability were manipulated by presetting either geneticbased\r\nor experientially-based explanations for the gender-related math\r\nperformance differences, while the strength of the alleged differences was held\r\nconstant. A third condition asserted that there are no gender differences in math.\r\nAdditional variable tested was the presence of men's influence on women math\r\nperformance.\r\nResults supported the hypothesis that the perceived cause for gender differences\r\nin math ability affects women's mathematical performance. Women who were\r\nexposed to a genetic explanation performed significantly worse than those\r\nexposed to experiential explanation. Men's presence did not significantly\r\n\r\ninfluence women's math performance. The results indicate one way in which\r\ngenetic essentialism might affect people's behaviour. Several more implications,\r\nas well as future directions are discussed."@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/15518?expand=metadata"@en . "3574964 bytes"@en . "application/pdf"@en . "I CAN(NOT) AVOID DOING BADLY: THE E F F E C T S OF PERCEIVED S O U R C E OF A S E L F - R E L E V A N T S T E R E O T Y P E ON P E R F O R M A N C E by I LAN DAR NIMROD B. A., The University of Haifa, 2001 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE D E G R E E OF MASTER OF A R T S in THE F A C U L T Y OF G R A D U A T E STUDIES Department of Psychology, Social Psychology Programme We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA July, 2004 \u00C2\u00A9 Man Dar Nimrod, 2004 J U B C l THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Library Authorization In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. oz/oj/zoot, Name of Author (please print) Date (dd/mm/yyyy) Title of Thesis: / CAP (A/0 T) A UP 111 VOIMG BADU 1 CT/:^/jD7-ypC OA/ pp.fifon/tAJi/rp Degree: M s 7 C ft* ARTS Year: 20o .1), suggesting an equivalent level of difficulty of the two math sets used. Number of questions answered correctly on Math 1. Different conditions might have differed on their initial math ability. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the number of questions answered correctly on the first math exam, however, did not reveal significant differences between conditions (F2,72=1-30, p=.279). Number of questions answered correctly on Math 2. To reduce noise due to differences in initial math abilities, subsequent analyses controlled for differences in Math 1 scores. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) on the number of questions correctly answered in the second math exam (see Table 1) revealed significant differences for \"source of stereotype\" (F2,68=4.53, p=.014), no significant differences for setting (Fi,68=2.48, p=.12), and no significant differences for the \"source of stereotype\" *setting interaction (F2,68=-71, p=.495)3. **************************************** Insert Table 1 about here **************************************** 3 Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) on the number of questions correctly answered in the second math exam by the entire sample (including women who perform at chance level or worse) revealed significant differences for \"source of stereotype\" (F2,82=3.1, p=.05), no significant differences for setting (F182=2.31, p=. 13), and no significant differences for the \"source of stereotype\" *setting interaction (F282=.47, p=.63). 21 Presence of men did not have significant effect on women's initial math performance (Math 1) (Fi i 7 3=1 -17, p=.24). On math 2 the women only group (M=4.85, SE=.30)* performed slightly better (no significance) than the women who were in the presence of men (M=4.22, SE=.26)\ yet the study failed to replicate previous research (Inzlicht & Ben-Zeev, 2000) at the conventional significance level of .05. To further investigate the differences between \"source of stereotype\" conditions, a generalization of the Tukey honestly significant difference procedure due to Bryant and Paulson (1976) revealed the following results for the pairwise multiple comparisons (see Figure 1); participants who were led to believe that men outperform women in math due to a genetic difference performed significantly worse than participants who were led to believe that there are no gender differences in math ability (qBP 1 i 3 i 7 1 =-3.48, p<.05), and significantly worse than participants who were led to believe that men outperform women due to an experiential difference (qBPi i 3,7i=-3.66, p<.05). No significant differences were observed between the E condition and the ND condition (qBP 1 | 3 i 7 1 =-.06, p>.50). **************************************** Insert Figure 1 about here **************************************** * Estimated means after controlling for Math 1 scores 22 Accuracy. The ratio between number of questions answered correctly ( Q 1 score) and the number of questions attempted ( Q 1 attempted) on Math 1 suggests that participants engaged in a large number of guesses (e.g., 1 4 out of 89 participants ( 1 3 % ) performed at chance level or worse and only 2 0 out of 89 participants ( 2 2 % ) correctly answered half or more of the questions they attempted). Guesses introduce noise to the experiment that might reduce the effect size for the influence of \"source of stereotype\" manipulation on Math 2 performance. To address this possibility I calculated the effect sizes of the \"source of stereotype\" variable for different levels of the ratio Q 1 S C o r e / Q 1 attempted- I then correlated these ratios with their matching effect sizes (see Figure 2 ) and found positive correlation between them ( r Q i S C ore/ Qiattempted, h2 = -70 , p< .001 ) . this illustration suggests that participants' guessing (smaller Q 1 score/ Qiattempted) dampened the effect size of \"source of stereotype\" on Math 2 performance in the current study. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 < > < > \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 > \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 > \u00C2\u00BB \u00C2\u00AB \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00C2\u00AB \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00C2\u00BB \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 > \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 > \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00C2\u00AB Insert Figure 2 about here \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00C2\u00BB\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00C2\u00AB\u00E2\u0080\u00A2>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2<>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2)\u00E2\u0080\u00A2)\u00E2\u0080\u00A2>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2)\u00E2\u0080\u00A2>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2)\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2<>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2)<>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2)\u00C2\u00AB><>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2><>\u00E2\u0080\u00A2)\u00E2\u0080\u00A2> One can argue that the increased effect size is due to higher level of identification with math for the people who are more accurate, making them more susceptible to ST. This notion suggests an alternative explanation, other than guessing, for the correlation between Q 1 score/ Qiattempted and the effect size. To examine this explanation I correlated identification with math (IDM) scores with Q 1 score/ Qiattempted-The data do not support this alternative explanation (rQiS C Ore/Qiattempted, I D M = - 1 5 , p>.10) . 23 Additional measures. Certain initial differences between the \"source of stereotype\" conditions could have an effect on math 2 scores. Participants' motivation (Kray et al., 2001) and expectancies (Shih et al., 1999) were both suggested as potential mediators for ST findings. Empirical examination of these variables suggests that the effect did not emerge due to initial differences in motivation (F2,72=2.3, p=.11, The E condition participants showed the lowest motivation), expectancies (F 2, 7 2=.63, p=.53). Steele and Aronson (1995) found that participants who faced ST manipulation showed stereotype avoidance. An A N O V A on stereotype avoidance scores in the different \"source of stereotype\" conditions revealed marginally significant differences (F 2, 7 2=2.93, p=.06). Contrary to my hypothesis, Tukey honestly significant difference analyses indicate that the differences originate from higher avoidance in the E condition (M=53.30) than the ND condition (M=58.85) at a p=.05 level 4. The G condition did not significantly differ from the other two (M=56.07). No significant differences between \"source of stereotype\" conditions were found in perceived difficulties on math (F 2 7 1 =1.75, p>.10) and on math performance evaluation (F 2, 7i=.416, p>.6) after controlling for Math 1 scores. Mediators. Previous research has found evidence that certain variables mediate ST effects experienced by women taking a math exam. The current study incorporated the following three variables that had been identified as potential mediators; anxiety (Spencer et al., 1999) and self-handicapping (Keller, 2002). Effort (Aronson et al., 1999) had been theoretically suggested as a mediator, and was included as well. However, regression analyses revealed no significant mediation roles for any of these variables (all P's>.10). Thus, although women in the G condition showed a ST effect, their 4 Lower scores indicate lower identification with stereotypically women's characteristics. 24 impaired performance was not paralleled neither by significant changes in their self-reported anxiety, or self-handicapping, or their effort. 25 Discussion I identified an inclination in past research to see attribution due to innate predispositions as stronger than attribution due to experiential ones as a truism (Steele, 1997; Levy et al., 1998). Furthermore, empirical findings support this notion (Monterosso et al., 2004). I harnessed this mechanism to manipulate people's perceptions of inescapability from a self-relevant stereotype-related outcome. We found that women who perceive the stereotype \"men are better at math than women\" to originate from group differences in genetic make-up exhibit more stereotype-consistent performance on a math task than women who perceive the stereotype to originate from collective gender-differences in related experiences. Perception of stereotype source, therefore, has an effect on stereotype-related task performance, suggesting that stereotyped group members experience stereotype-related performance prediction as inescapable. Steele and Aronson (1995) found that African-Americans exhibit stereotype avoidance behavior under ST conditions. The present study found that contrary to the original hypothesis participants in the E condition rather than the G condition demonstrated stereotype avoidance. One possible explanation for this finding is that participants in the E condition are actively trying to reduce their similarity to stereotypic exemplars of their gender, and by that they are able to overcome the threat to their performance. Having an experience-based explanation to gender-related math discrepancies externalizes the reason for the discrepancies and thus may implicitly suggest that by distancing herself from women's traditional experiences one can avoid the associated math performance decline. Participants in the G condition, on the other hand, are bound to their group in a genetic-essentialist way, and therefore avoidance of the group characteristics (even stereotypical ones) is futile. 26 There were no significant performance differences between women who were led to believe that women are inferior in math due to experiential reasons and women who were led to believe that there are no gender differences in math. This evidence suggests that the reason that women show underperfomance following the traditional ST manipulation (exposing participants to a gender prime) may be due to a tendency to naturally perceive their math ability to be a hard-wired, biologically determined ability associated with their social group. It also suggests that this natural inclination towards biological essentialism can be overridden by an explicit environmental explanation. One can offer an alternative explanation for this finding. It can be argued that the experiment lacked sufficient power to uncover a more subtle difference between these two conditions. This alternative explanation is not supported by the data as the difference between the E and ND condition after controlling for initial math ability was minuscule. A replication of this study is needed to allow us to argue more confidently that perceiving the source of a stereotype to be experiential eliminates stereotype threat effect. Inzlicht and Ben-Zeev (2000) found that women demonstrate reduced performance on a math task in the presence of men. Their study provided women with a highly artificial setting. They found that when put in groups of three in a lab, women showed underperformance when at least one of the people in the group was a man. We failed to replicate this result in a more ecologically valid setting- a classroom with both men and women. The current study's findings suggest that the effect size of ST due to minority status might be lower in more natural environments than the one reported by Inzlicht and Ben-Zeev (Cohen d=.73 in Experiment 1). How does a manipulation of stereotype source reduce ST effects? Internal beliefs have been shown to predict vulnerability to ST (Inzlicht & Ben-Zeev, 2003; 27 Schmader, 2002; Schmader et al., in press). The source of the stereotype and the stereotype's effect on the individual constitute a part of a person's internal belief system. Providing an experiential explanation for a stereotyped group performance decrement allows people to assess whether they have encountered similar situations and/or dismiss the effect of the situation on them as unlikely or inapplicable. Lay perceptions of genetic effects are much more difficult to elude (Jayaratne, 2002; Monterosso et al., 2004). A significant percentage of people identify genes as the source of abilities' potentials (Laine et al., in press) and as underlined person's essence (Nelkin & Lindee, 1995). More relevant to this study, a representative survey of Americans found that 57% of the people believe that individual math ability is influenced or determined by genes, and 40% believe that gender differences in math ability are influenced or determined by genes (Jayaratne, 2002). Social desirability concerns (avoiding an undesired sexist label) suggest viewing these numbers as conservative estimate. Taken together with evidence that shows acceptance of the stereotype (or even failure to reject it completely) to be an important risk factor (Schmader et al., in press), these findings offer a deeper understanding of the importance of perceived inescapability in the underlying process that govern ST. The present study suggests that women consider their gender in an essentialist way in the ST paradigm. Their womanhood is part of their essence and therefore this influences their abilities by reducing malleability. Future research should target the role of people's implicit theories (entity vs. incremental) in their susceptibility to ST. The present methodology also raises an interesting and underinvestigated area. Lay people's perceptions of genes have been shown to be full of misconceptions (Laine et al., in press). These perceptions, however, are marked by essentialism (i.e., genetic 28 essentialism). This essentialism was not created in a vacuum; several mechanisms may have been involved in its formation. Philosophy of biology theorists assert that there is a basic human tendency towards biological essentialism (also known as folk biology), which can be defined as seeing a living thing as having a certain unchangeable underlying characteristics, whereas artifacts do not. This theory has received a wide range of support from research in developmental psychology (e.g., Gelman, 2003; Keil, 1989) and anthropology (Ahn et al., 2001; Atran, 1987, Atran et al., 2001). Essentialist thinking dominates both physical characteristics (e.g., Gelman, 1988; Keil, 1989) and psychological traits (e.g., Heyman & Gelman, 2000; Sousa, Atran, & Medin, 2002). Medin and Ortony (1989) claimed that people's concepts are often derived from essentialist implicit theories. In support of this claim, several studies indicate that social groups are perceived to follow the essentialist route (folk sociology) in a similar fashion to living organisms rather than man made artifacts, although epistemologically they should be categorized as the latter (Rothbart & Taylor, 1992). Biological essentialist thinking seems to precede the ability to reason about it (Heyman & Gelman, 2000; Johnson & Solomon, 1997). The concept of genetics may provide the scientific justification for embedded biological essentialism, as genes are seen in part as human essence, although a rigorous scientific approach does not support many of the general public's genetic assertions. Even children adopt a genetic rationalization to justify nature-based essentialist views of psychological traits. For example, explaining a nature-based response to a question about the smartness of a child that was born to \"not so smart\" parents but was raised by \"smart\" parents, some fourth and fifth graders provided the following answer \"It will have trouble. It's in his genes\" (Heyman & Gelman, 2000, p. 672). Thus, genetic essentialism might be an 29 extension (or a mature form) of the basic human tendency towards biological essentialism. Jayaratne (2002) suggested a model (Figure 3) in which genetic explanations for individual differences lead to genetic explanations for perceived gender, class or race differences, which in turn lead to attitudes toward women, the poor or blacks. The results of the current study suggest that the implications of genetic explanations for perceived gender differences (which might generalize to class and race as well) might lead not just to attitudes but also may affect performance on stereotype-related tasks. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 Insert Figure 3 about here **************************************** Limitations and future directions This study introduced a novel manipulation designed to create a stereotype-related underperformance. As with all single study designs, the findings should be replicated and the stereotype source manipulation that was used to produce ST should be compared to the traditional ST manipulation that activates the stereotype subtly, by priming people with their membership in a stereotyped group. Another limitation of this study was brought about by the level of difficulty of the math sections, which served as the covariate and the dependent variable. In order to create a ST underperformance, the task (DV) should be very difficult. The math sections that I used, though, proved to be too difficult resulting in increased numbers of 30 guesses, dropping participants from the central analyses, and potential floor effect, which may have lowered the effect size for the variables that were studied. Future studies should use easier math questions to avoid these undesirable outcomes. This study also raises intriguing follow-up questions. For example, how closely related are genetic-based reasoning and stereotype endorsement? Jayaratne (2002) demonstrates that people who hold genetic explanations for perceived gender, class or race differences endorse stereotypical attitudes more. Taken together with the current study, one wonders if people who are primed with the concept of genetics (e.g., genes determine one's love for four-legged animals) might show greater endorsement of unrelated stereotypes (e.g., Jewish people are greedy) due to an increase in essentialist thoughts. Findings of this sort may call for a fundamental change in the way that findings in the genetic field should be reported to the public. The interaction between stereotypes and genetic essentialism provides a different avenue to explore such as whether priming stereotypes increase genetic essentialism. Conclusion Research is just scratching the surface of laypeople's perceptions of genes. 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Social Cognition, 16, 56-77. 41 Table 1: Scores on math 2 for \"source of stereotype\" and Setting conditions before and after covariation of Math 1 scores. condition n mean SD Estimated S E o f t h e marginal estimated means 3 marginal mean 3 G 28 3.57 2.06 3.73 .315 E 27 5.22 1.83 4.93 .323 ND 20 5.75 2.38 4.94 .393 Women 34 4.65 2.21 4.85 .302 only Mixed sex 41 4.34 2.15 4.22 .260 Covariates appearing in the model are evaluated at the following values: Math 1 score=4.72 42 Figure Captions Figure 1: Math 2 estimated means after controlling for Math 1 scores for each of the \"source of stereotype\" conditions Figure 2: The relation between changes in effect size of \"source of stereotype\" conditions and accuracy Figure 3: Jayaratne's (2002) suggested model for the relationship between genetic explanations and attitudes towards social groups. 43 Figure 1: Math 2 estimated means after controlling for Math 1 scores 3 for each of the \"source of stereotype\" conditions 6 nr^ : : : \u00E2\u0080\u0094 : . - . . - , , - \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 - v - . \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 - \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 I 'Source of stereotype' The Y axis origin was set at the level of the evaluated covariate (the mean for math 1 scores): Math 1 score=4.72. 44 Figure 2: The relation between changes in effect size of \"source of stereotype\" conditions and accuracy 3 CM N \"55 +\u00E2\u0080\u00A2*\u00E2\u0080\u00A2 o & 111 0.2 0.18 0.16 0.14 0.12 0.1 0.08 0.06 - i 1 r -^ <1> l5* C N > 4> -J j - N CN' CN. f N . J CN- J C N . J J O ^ ^ N ? ^ *$>~ ^ N \u00C2\u00AE \" \u00C2\u00ABgf \u00C2\u00ABS\u00C2\u00BB\" ^ -^ rj. _<5* ^ _<5\" .o\" /cN _o\" _ d^> sd> # sd> # ^ A<> ^ O ^ d> ^ AO accuracy The inclusion criterion for the central analyses was set at a chance level: Q1SCore/ Q1attemPted>-22 45 Figure 3: Jayaratne's (2002) suggested model for the relationship between genetic explanations and attitudes towards social groups. Genetic Genetic Attitudes explanations for explanations toward individual -> for perceived -> women, the differences gender, class poor or Blacks or race differences A p p e n d i c e s 46 Appendix 1A: One version of the math sections 1. If r \u00C2\u00A5 s = r(r - s) for all integers r and s, then 4 V (3 v 5) equals a. -8 b. -2 c. 2 d. 20 e. 40 2. In the set of numbers (12, 5, 14, 12, 9, 15, 10) , / equals the mean, g equals the median, h equals the mode, and j equals the range. Which of the following is true? a. f>g>h>j b. g = h>f>j c. g>h>f=j d- j>f>g = h 3. Which of the following CANNOT be an integer i f the integer k is a multiple of 12 but not a multiple of 9? k a. \u00E2\u0080\u0094 3 b. i 4 k c. \u00E2\u0080\u0094 10 a. * 12 k e. \u00E2\u0080\u0094 36 4. Shown below is a correct problem in multiplication, with z and y representing certain digits. What could the value of y be? zy X y 9y a. 5 b. 4 c. 7 d. 6 e. 0 47 5. A rectangular bathroom measures 9/4 feet by 12 feet. The floor is covered by rectangular tile measuring 1 Vi inches by 2 inches. Column A Column B The number of tiles on the bathroom floor 6 x 4 8 x 19 a. the quantity in Column A is always greater b. the quantity in Column B is always greater c. the quantities are always equal d. it cannot be determined from the information given 6. A professor is choosing students to attend a special seminar. She has 10 students to choose from, and only four may be chosen. How many different ways are there to make up the four students chosen for the seminar? a. 24 b. 120 c. 180 d. 210 e. 360 7. A: is an integer such that 9(3) + 4 - k Column A Column B The average of the prime factors of k 16 a. the quantity in Column A is always greater b. the quantity in Column B is always greater c. the quantities are always equal d. it cannot be determined from the information given 8. a = b + 2 Column A Column B a\"-2ab + b\" 2a-2b a. the quantity in Column A is always greater b. the quantity in Column B is always greater c. the quantities are always equal d. it cannot be determined from the information given 48 9. If m + n = 24, and m -n+p = 15, then 4m + 2p = a. 13 b. 26 c. 39 d. 64 e. 78 10. The distance between town A and town B is over 500 km. A car leaves town A at 10am going to town B at a speed of 70 km/h. A van leaves town B at 11:30am going to town A on the same road at a speed of 80 km/h. what is the distance between the vehicles 20 minutes before the rendezvous. a. 150 km b. 50 km c. 75 km d. 300 km e. there is not enough information to solve the problem 11. Sara, Jack, Mike, Katie, and Ron want to sit on a bench. How many different sitting arrangements are possible? a. 120 b. 720 c. 3125 d. 60 e. 90 12. How many solid square cubes with volume of 8 cm 3 can we fit in a rectangular box with the following dimensions: H-\2 cm, W-9 cm, Z - l 1 cm? a. 100 b. 120 c. 147 d. 148 e. 160 13. In a business meeting, there are 2 representatives from 12 different companies. How many handshakes will take place if everyone has to shake hands with all the people except the person from their own company? a. 552 b. 529 c. 276 d. 264 e. 248 14. If 3x + Ay is an odd number, which of the following CANNOT be true? a. x is odd and y is odd 49 b. x is even and y is even c. x is even and y is odd a. I only b. I and II only c. II only d. I l l only e. II and III only 15. What is the next number in the following series? 2,-1,-4,11,116, a. 12,743 b. -7 c. 13,451 d. -11,227 e. -311 16. Tap A fills the pool in 20 hours Tap B fills the pool in 30 hours. Both taps were turned on at 8am. When will the pool be full? a. 10pm b. 8pm c. 10am d. 4am e. 4pm 17. Jane loads a truck in 8 hours. Mandy unloads a truck in 10 hours. How long it will take to load an empty truck if both of them work together. a. 40 hours b. 18 hours c. 26 hours d. 80 hours e. they will never get the work done 18. What is the perimeter of a rectangle that is three times as long as it is wide and has the same area as a circle of circumference of 6? 8 V 3 ^ 8Vfl-4V3^r 8V3 8 8 V3 r^~ 50 Appendix 1B: The second math section 1- c \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 d = \u00E2\u0080\u0094\u00E2\u0080\u0094\u00E2\u0080\u0094, where c ^ 0 c If 9 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 4 = 15 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 M h e n \u00C2\u00A3 = a. -3 b. 6 c. 20 3 d. 25 3 e. 9 2. If x > 0, then (4^(80 = a. 29x b. 2 & c. 26x d. 25* e. 24x 3. The fuel economy of a passenger car will typically peak at 45 miles per hour, and then decline as the vehicle's speed increases. For example, a given car gets 40 miles per gallon at 45 miles per hour, but it gets 12% fewer miles per gallon at 60 miles per hour. How far can this car travel at 60 miles per hour on 11 gallons of gas? a. 35.2 miles b. 387.2 miles c. 400 miles d. 408.3 miles e. 440 miles 4. Simon and Chris have 26 plastic robots and 17 red toys. If they have a total of 38 toys, how many of the plastic robots are red? a. at least 17 b. no more than 26 c. no more than 7 d. at least 5 e. there is not enough information to solve the problem 5. What is the next number in the following series? 5,6, 11, 11,23,21, a. 45 b. 22 c. 47 d. 39 51 e. 35 6. Judie started walking from her home to school at 9am. Kevin, her brother, noticed that she forgot her lunch and ran after her 30 minutes later. If Judie's pace is 4 km/h and Kevin's pace is 7 km/h, when will Kevin catch up with Judie? a. 10:30 b. 10:10 c. 10:00 d. 10:50 e. 10:15 7. lfm = 121 - 5k is divisible by 3, which of the following may be true? I. m is odd II. m is even III. k is divisible by 3 a. I only b. II only c. II and III only d. I and II only e. I, II, and III 8. A box contains five blocks numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Johnnie picks a block and replaces it. Lisa then picks a block. What is the probability that the sum of the numbers they picked is even? d. \u00E2\u0080\u0094 25 2 e. \u00E2\u0080\u0094 5 f. -2 13 9. If A and B are positive integers and 24,45 is a perfect square, then which of the following CANNOT be possible? I. Both A and B are odd II. AB is a perfect square III. Both A and B are divisible by 6 a. I only b. II only c. I l l only 52 addition, with x and y representing certain digits. What 7x x y . + XX iTT d. I and II only e. I, II, and III 10. Shown below is a correct problem in is the value of yl a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. 5 11. If x and y are positive integers, and x \u00E2\u0080\u0094 2y = -4y2? a. -3 b. 0 c. 14 d. 45 e. 51 5, which of the following could be the value of x 12. If the result of squaring a number n is less than twice the number, then the value of n must be a. negative b. positive c. between-1 and+1 d. greater than 1 e. between 0 and 2 13. What is the perimeter of a rectangle that is twice as long as it is wide and has the same area as a circle of diameter 8? a. %4n b. 8V2TT C 87T d. 1 2 V 2 ^ e. 12;r 14. Harvey paid $400 for a used car that travels 28 miles per gallon on the highway and 20 miles per gallon in the city. If he drove twice as many highway as city miles last month while using 34 gallons of gasoline, how many miles did he drive altogether. a. 1,000 b. 840 c. 400 53 d. 340 e. 280 15. A plane is flying from City A to City B at m mph. Another plane flying from City B to City A travels 50 mph faster than the first plane. The cities are R miles apart. If both planes depart at the same time, in terms of R and m, how far are they from City A when they pass? d. e. *+50 m ^ - 5 0 2m Rm 2m+ 50 R + 50 m + 50 m + 50 R 16. Ten real estate agents are meeting in a conference in Las Vegas. If they exchange business card at the beginning of the meeting so everyone gets a card from all the rest, how many business cards exchanged hands? a. 200 b. 100 c. 90 d. 80 e. 110 17. In the set of positive, distinct integers {a, b, c, d, e) the median is 16. What is the minimum value of a + b + c + d+e? a. 26 b. 48 c. 54 d. 72 18. A fictitious credit card number always start with 4, has 8 numbers in total, and ends in an odd number. How many different combinations of numbers can make up this kind of credit card number? a. 1,000,000 b. 10,000,000 c. 4,000,000 d. 5,000,000 e. 20,000,000 54 Appendix 2A: No gender differences in math abilities manipulation (ND condition essay) Directions: After reading this passage, you will find a series of questions. Select the best choice for each question. Answers are based on the contents of the passage or what the author implies in the passage. Slje Jfaur JJork Stmejs * O N T H E W E B There are no gender differences in mathematical abilities, Researchers Say By DR. ERIC A. GOODEY The environmental camp in a longstanding controversial issue, which has drawn a lot of attention over the past few decades, has received the most convincing support to date in results released today from an international group of psychology researchers. The researchers claim to find that mathematical reasoning differences, which were assumed to exist between men and women, actually have no hold in reality. The results show that there are no innate differences between males and females in mathematical reasoning. The new research is the largest published study of differences among males and females in mathematical reasoning. The research was conducted over 8 years in which the participants were followed and their performance closely observed. Unlike previous research in the field, the present study followed both a genetic research design (to look for inherit differences) and a survey research design. In the genetic paradigm, using top of the line instruments (F-MRI, D N A analyzers, and messenger R N A blockers), the researchers failed to find any gender differences on mathematical tasks. Using the largest sample (over 50 million people!) ever recorded, the researchers compared grades in mathematics and physics in 113 countries around the world. The grades were taken from national comparison exams in elementary schools and high schools. The results showed that males and females were performing just as well on the math sections. The same results were found among college students in 26 countries. The research was supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), which provided the international team of researchers, led by Dr. Mark Goldstein from the Harvard Gender Research Institute, with a grant of an unprecedented 35 million dollars to fund a 6-year study of gender differences in education. The results that appeared today in Child Development, one of the leading journals of the American Psychology Association, are only the start of many that will follow in the coming years from this prolific team. Dr. Thomas Schmidt, speaking for the team, concluded that \"another bubble of prejudice had exploded. The sheer magnitude of the study is a guarantee of its results. If there would have been even the slightest difference between males and females in math, the study would have been able to detect it, up to a .001 difference in performance.\" 55 \"This study is both statistically and clinically significant,\" said the leading author, Dr. Karen Dinear, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin Medical Branch. \"Its magnitude sheds new light on a long discourse concerning gender roles and math performance. I hope that teachers and student will modify their expectations accordingly.\" Dr. Laura Wehr, from the University of North Dakota Microbiology and Genes Unit suggested that the results are not as sound as other may claim due to the size of the sample used in the genetic conditions of the study (950 females and 875 males). Other experts predicted more criticism in the coming weeks and months once more researchers in the field have a chance to review the findings. 1. What is the main argument of this article? a. Gender differences can only be detected by extremely sensitive tests b. A large sample population strengthens experiment results c. Males are not always better at math than females d. Gender differences are negated by social factors e. Mathematical skills are learned 2. How was mathematical reasoning represented in the experiment? a. Comparing algebra and problem solving questions b. Comparing mathematic grades c. Comparing mathematic and physics grades d. Comparing physics grades e. Comparing calculus grades 3. Why is this research the most convincing evidence to date? a. A large population was tested b. Use of advanced technological equipments is more reliable now c. Both innate and cognitive factors were tested d. Teachers opinions are more valued than others e. Experts conducted the experiment 4. Why are experts so excited about the experiment results? a. More funding will be provided b. Females will no longer shy away from mathematics c. Males and Females are equally capable of mathematical reasoning d. Gender differences can no longer be a good excuse for failing math class e. Many hours of hard work paid off 56 Appendix 2B: Males perform better on math tasks due to genetic disposition manipulation (G condition essay) Directions: After reading this passage, you will find a series of questions. Select the best choice for each question. Answers are based on the contents of the passage or what the author implies in the passage. Slje Jfetu Work Simes ' O N T H E W E B Genes are involved in mathematical abilities, Researchers Say By DR. ERIC A. GOODEY The biological camp in a longstanding controversial issue, which has drawn a lot of attention over the past few decades, has received the most convincing support to date in results released today from an international group of genetic researchers. The researchers claim to find genetic bases for well-documented gender differences in mathematical reasoning abilities. The study shows that innate differences exist between males and females in mathematical reasoning. The new research is the largest published study of polygenetic effects to test the interaction between different genes and higher cognitive functions. One of the main findings demonstrates an interaction of 2 genes located on the Y chromosome (which is found only in males) with genes on chromosome 5 and chromosome 7. This interaction produces hormonal changes guided by the hypothalamus. The onset of the hormonal release is guided by activation of the Brotically area in the frontal lobe. This area is activated when processing mathematical oriented problems. F-MRI scans show these hormonal changes create an increase in the amount of ATP (the body's currency of energy) molecules directed to the hippocampus when a person is engaged in higher mathematical reasoning tasks. The increased energy to this area of the brain, considered the \"working memory organ\", enables the person to retain more accessible short term memory information while concentrating, a critical element in mathematical reasoning capabilities. This genetic difference seems to explain the findings that boys show superior performance by having on average a grade 5 percentile points higher than girls. The research was supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), which provided the international team of researchers, led by Dr. Mark Goldstein from the Harvard Microbiology Research Institute, with a grant of an unprecedented 35 million dollars to fund a 6-year study of polygenetic effects on brain capacities. The results that appeared today in the Journal of American Medical Association are only the start of many that will follow in the coming years from this prolific team. Dr. Thomas Schmidt, speaking for the team, concluded that \"manipulating hormonal state in the same way that the polygenetic effect does, may enable us in the future to elevate females' mathematical reasoning abilities to be in-line with those of males\". 57 \"This study is both statistically and clinically significant,\" said the leading author, Dr. Karen Dinear, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin Medical Branch. \"Its magnitude sheds new light on a long discourse concerning the role that genes and the environment play in the finding that, in general, males have higher mathematical reasoning abilities than females.\" Other experts said the study was important in adding to the limited knowledge about the effects of different hormones on brain functions. Dr. Laura Wehr, from the University of Aiwa Microbiology and Genes Unit, suggested that the results are not as sound as other may claim due to the size of the sample used in the study (63 females and 58 males). Other experts predicted more criticism in the coming weeks and months once more researchers in the field have a chance to review the findings. 5. What is the main argument of this article? f. Males are better at math than females g. Females are better at math than males h. Males have a genetic math disadvantage over females i . Males have a genetic math advantage over females j . Males and Females both are genetically equipped for math 6. How does the \"math gene\" work? f. Through clearer visual representations g. Flow of energy allows longer short term memory retention h. Higher levels of cognitive thinking are encoded differently i . Hormones alter thestructure of the brain j . More areas of the brain are triggered for enhanced mathematical attention 7. According to the article, what is not the cause of math differences between the sexes? f. Pituitary Gland g. Hormones h. Genes i . Hypothalamus j . Frontal lobe 8. According to this article, in the future how can females improve their math skills? a. Taking herbal supplements b. Asking more questions during math class c. It is not possible for females to improve their math skills d. Spending more time on their math homework e. Altering hormone secretions 58 Appendix 2 C : Males perform better on math tasks due to experiential circumstances manipulation (E condition essay) Directions: After reading this passage, you will find a series of questions. Select the best choice for each question. Answers are based on the contents of the passage or what the author implies in the passage. Slje iNettr JJJork Stmes * O N T H E W E B Expectations are responsible for gender differences mathematical abilities, Researchers Say By DR. ERIC A. GOODEY The environmental camp in a longstanding controversial issue, which has drawn a lot of attention over the past few decades, has received the most convincing support to date in results released today from an international group of psychology researchers. The researchers claim to find reasons for well-documented gender differences in mathematical reasoning abilities. The results show that there are no innate differences between males and females in mathematical reasoning. The new research is the largest published study of differences among males and females in mathematical reasoning. The research was conducted over 8 years in which the participants were followed and their performance closely observed. Unlike previous research in the field, the present study followed both a genetic research design (to look for internal factors to explain the difference) and a cognitive research design (to look for external factors to explain the difference). In the genetic paradigm, using top of the line instruments (F-MRI, D N A analyzers, and messenger R N A blockers), the researchers failed to find any gender differences on mathematical tasks. Using an ingenious cognitive paradigm, the researchers manipulated the teachers' expectations of students in 64 elementary school classes in 18 cities and towns around the country. In the experimental condition, the researchers visited schools as educational psychologists and gave students a bogus mathematical test at the beginning of the year. Afterwards, they provided the teachers with fake reports that illustrated that the girls in the class were better in mathematics. Observing the teachers through a video camera in the class, it became apparent that teachers were paying more attention to the girls, were more praising towards them and were more dismissive of the boys. In the control condition, where no manipulations of teachers' expectations had taken place, the opposite pattern was observed. Teachers were more attentive towards boys, were praising them more and were more dismissive of girls. The findings showed that the girls in the experimental condition were superior to the boys if the teachers' expectations were manipulated in one of the first three years of elementary school followed by two more years. Manipulation of teachers' expectations after the third year seems to mitigate the effects of teacher's expectations in the first years of school, but not to enough to turn them around as in the case of a manipulation during the first three years. In the control conditions, boys showed superior performance by having on average a grade 5 percentile points higher than the girls throughout the 8 years of the experiment, providing more support to the general stereotype. The 59 critical period for the students' self-expectations construct seems to be in the beginning of the formal education. The research was supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), which provided the international team of researchers, led by Dr. Mark Goldstein from the Harvard Gender Research Institute, with a grant of an unprecedented 35 million dollars to fund a 6-year study of gender differences in education. The results that appeared today in Child Development, one of the leading journals of the American Psychology Association, are only the start of many that will follow in the coming years from this prolific team. Dr. Thomas Schmidt, speaking for the team, concluded that \"manipulating teachers' expectations in the same way that the stereotype does, shows that the construct of mathematical abilities that is apparent in teachers' minds and behavior may as well be the factor that explains gender differences in math\". The current research joins a long line of research showing the effect of teachers' expectations on students' performance. \"This study is both statistically and clinically significant,\" said the lead author, Dr. Karen Dinear, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin Medical Branch. \"Its magnitude sheds new light on a long discourse concerning the role that genes and the environment play in the finding that, in general, males have higher mathematical reasoning abilities than females.\" Dr. Laura Wehr, from the University of North Dakota Microbiology and Genes Unit, suggested that the results are not as sound as other may claim due to the size of the sample used in the genetic conditions of the study (950 females and 875 males). Other experts predicted more criticism in the coming weeks and months once more researchers in the field have a chance to review the findings. 9. What is the main argument of this article? k. Mathematics should not be taught in co-ed classes 1. Gender differences cannot.be accounted for by innate qualities m. No reasonable explanations can account for differences in mathematical abilities n. Teachers should be aware of gender differences 0. Girls are not putting enough effort into their math studies 10. Why is this research the most convincing evidence to date? k. A large population tested and the time spent on observation 1. Use of advanced technological equipments is more reliable now m. Both innate and cognitive factors were tested n. Teachers opinions are more valued than others 0. Children were unaware of the manipulation 11. According the article, how do math differences occur amongst boys & girls? k. Teachers' high expectations led girls to be more anxious and boys to be more determined 1. Boys were disruptive affecting girls' concentration 60 m. Girls did not show as much interest in math as boys n. Teachers were much more likely to help and praise boys than girls o. Boys played with toys that involved more mathematical reasoning 12. In the future, how can females improve their math skills? a. Take herbal supplements b. Ask more questions during math class c. Find teachers who praise them more d. Teachers should be aware of their own interactions with students e. Believe in their abilities "@en . "Thesis/Dissertation"@en . "2004-11"@en . "10.14288/1.0091536"@en . "eng"@en . "Psychology"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en . "Graduate"@en . "I can (not) avoid doing badly : the effects of perceived source of a self-relevant stereotype on performance"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/15518"@en .