Sex differences in attributions and learned helplessness

Abstract

This investigation assessed the hypothesis that girls are more likely to be learned helpless in math than boys. Students in grades 5 through 11 completed questionnaires assessing their causal attributions for success and failure in mathematics, their self-concepts of math ability, and their expectations for both current and future success in math. Results indicated that sex differences in attributions depended on the type of methodology used (open-ended or rank-ordered questions). The most consistent difference involved the differential use and ranking of ability, skills, and consistent effort. No sex differences were found in either students" perceptions of their own math ability or in their current achievement expectations. Girls, however, rated their future expectations slightly lower than did boys. Taken together, these results provide little support for the hypothesis that girls are generally more learned helpless in mathematics than are boys. Competence and confidence in learning mathematics have been identified as critical mediators of both educational and occupational choices. Mathematical skills are important for admission to many college majors, for most professional occupations, and, increasingly, for many computerized technical occupations as well (see Brush, 1980; Fox, Brody, & Tobin, 1980). Yet female students are less likely than male students to take advanced high school and college math courses. Considerable attention has been directed toward understanding the biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors contributing to this problem (for recent reviews see

Gender differences in causal attributions by college students of performance on course examinations

“…As was found in previous research (Basow & Medcalf, 1988;D'Amico, Baron & Sissons, 1995;Erkut, 1983;Ickes & Layden, 1978;LaNoue & Curtis, 1985;Parsons, Meece, Adler & Kaczala, 1982;Little & Lopez, 1997;Rustemeyer & Jubel, 1996;Wiegers & Frieze, 1977), females compared to males favored effort attributions ("paid attention" and "studied"), whereas males used more ability attributions than females for successful outcomes, especially for the masculine subject matter. For failure outcomes, however, males more than females thought that a lack of studying and low interest was responsible.…”

“…Some of the research suggests that women display a less self-enhancing pattern of causal attributions than men. Women have been found to attribute successful outcomes more externally (Feather, 1969;Meehan & Overton, 1986;Pasquella, Mednick & Murray, 1981;Simon & Feather, 1973;Viaene, 1979;Zuckerman, 1979) or more to effort rather than ability than men (Erkut, 1983;Ickes & Layden, 1978;Parsons, Meece, Adler & Kaczala, 1982;LaNoue & Curtis, 1985;Wiegers & Frieze, 1977). For failures, males see internal causes, especially a lack of ability, as less important than do females, thereby protecting their self-esteem (Basow & Medcalf, 1988;D'Amico, Baron & Sissons, 1995;Ickes & Layden, 1978;LaNoue & Curtis, 1985).…”

Business accomplishments, gender and entrepreneurial self-image

“…In general, these studies indicate that women tend to underrate their skills or performance as compared to men (Wohlers and London, 1989;Lindeman et al, 1995). This underrating has been attributed to the fact that women often do not take credit for success, attributing success to external sources or luck rather than to effort or ability (Rosenthal et al, 1996;Parsons et al, 1982;LaNoue and Curtis, 1985). Moreover, Rosenthal et al (1996) argue it may be 'proper female modesty' accounting for the underrating by female managers.…”

Geography Teachers’ Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Classroom Management

“…Accordingly, it is possible to say that female and male teachers have close scores to each other in both overall classroom management and its sub-dimensions. Previous studies on classroom management emphasize that gender is an important variable creating difference (Amin, 1994;Ekici, 2008;Erol, 2006;Grossmann, 1990;Güvenç, 2012;İlgar, 2007;Martin & Yin, 1997;Özgan et al, 2011;Parsons, 1982;Savran & Çakıroğlu, 2004;Van Oostendorp, 1991;Zeremba & Fluck, 1995). However, our results indicated that there is no statistical difference between the teachers' attitude and belief levels regarding classroom management and its sub-dimensions by gender (Ekici, 2008;Ekici et al, 2012;Denkdemir, 2007;Okut, 2011;Savran Gencer & Çakıroğlu, 2007).…”