GIRLS assimilate stereotypes associating brilliance with men rather than women by the time they are six, potentially limiting their aspirations and impacting their future careers, scientists have said.
Tests on young children in the United States also showed girls of six were more likely than boys to avoid activities said to require brilliance.
"Our society tends to associate brilliance with men more than with women, and this notion pushes women away from jobs that are perceived to require brilliance," lead researcher Lin Bian of the University of Illinois said in a statement.
"We wanted to know whether young children also endorse these stereotypes."
The researchers tested children aged five to seven. In one experiment the children heard a story about a person who was "really, really smart" and were asked to guess who it was about from a selection of male and female characters.
They were also shown pairs of men and women and asked to guess which one was "really, really smart".
The results showed boys and girls aged five both viewed their own gender positively, but girls aged six and seven were markedly less likely than boys to associate brilliance with their own gender.
The differences were similar across children from various socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.
"Even though the stereotype equating brilliance with men doesn't match reality, it might nonetheless take a toll on girls' aspirations and on their eventual careers," said New York University psychology professor Andrei Cimpian, lead author of the study published in the journal Science this week.
Researchers also looked at whether perceptions around brilliance and gender shaped children's interests.
A group of six and seven-year-olds were shown two very similar games - one described as for "children who are really, really smart" and the other for "children who try really, really hard".
Girls were significantly less interested than boys in the game for smart children, but there was no difference between the boys' and girls' interest in the game for hard-working children.
Another test found five-year-old boys and girls displayed equal interest in games for smart children, but six-year-old girls demonstrated less interest than boys their age.
"These findings show that these stereotypes begin to impact girls' choices at a heartbreakingly young age," said Princeton University philosophy professor Sarah-Jane Leslie who contributed to the research.
The Washington Post
Fri Jan 27 2017
![Girls as young as six equate brilliance with opposite sex - scientists Girls as young as six equate brilliance with opposite sex - scientists](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2016-04/41460207914_Shopping.jpg)
Girls were significantly less interested than boys in the game for smart children, but there was no difference between the boys' and girls' interest in the game for hard-working children. - Photo for illustration purpose only
![Lebih 1,600 premis PKS sertai program SOLVE 4 SME Lebih 1,600 premis PKS sertai program SOLVE 4 SME](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/71723651455_TBSOLVE.jpg)
Lebih 1,600 premis PKS sertai program "SOLVE 4 SME"
JKKP memaklumkan penyertaan itu melebihi sasaran jabatan itu dan telah memberi manfaat kepada 70,824 pekerja PKS.
![PRK Nenggiri: PN ada peluang menang, tapi jangan over-confident - Muhyiddin PRK Nenggiri: PN ada peluang menang, tapi jangan over-confident - Muhyiddin](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/51713678198_MuhyiddinYassin.jpg)
PRK Nenggiri: "PN ada peluang menang, tapi jangan over-confident" - Muhyiddin
Muhyiddin optimis dengan kemenangan calon PN, Mohd Rizwadi Ismail sekali gus mempertahankan kerusi DUN Nenggiri.
![Ahli ekonomi yakin pertumbuhan KDNK sekitar 5.8 peratus pada suku kedua 2024 Ahli ekonomi yakin pertumbuhan KDNK sekitar 5.8 peratus pada suku kedua 2024](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/81717305735_EkonomiMalaysia.jpg)
Ahli ekonomi yakin pertumbuhan KDNK sekitar 5.8 peratus pada suku kedua 2024
Kalangan ahli ekonomi yakin KDNK Malaysia bagi suku kedua 2024 akan berkembang pada 5.8 peratus berbanding 4.2 peratus pada suku pertama tahun ini.
AWANI Pagi: Berita tumpuan & menarik di astroawani.com [15 Ogos 2024]
Antara fokus AWANI Pagi bersama Nursyazwani Saiful Sham dan Afiezy Azaman
- Mayat lelaki di jambatan Klang dipercayai YouTuber Nidza Afham
- BNM denda Maybank, CIMB kerana gangguan perkhidmatan berpanjangan
- JIWA SME: Inovasi kuih sejuk beku jadi kudapan jemaah tunai umrah
#AWANInews #AWANIpagi
- Mayat lelaki di jambatan Klang dipercayai YouTuber Nidza Afham
- BNM denda Maybank, CIMB kerana gangguan perkhidmatan berpanjangan
- JIWA SME: Inovasi kuih sejuk beku jadi kudapan jemaah tunai umrah
#AWANInews #AWANIpagi
![Cisco akan kurangkan 7 peratus tenaga kerja globalnya Cisco akan kurangkan 7 peratus tenaga kerja globalnya](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/41723681507_Ciscologo.jpg)
Cisco akan kurangkan 7 peratus tenaga kerja globalnya
Langkah mengurangkan kakitangan itu dijangka melibatkan kos pra-cukai sehingga AS$1 bilion.
Jiwa SME: Kuih tradisonal sejuk beku 'diterbangkan' ke Tanah Suci
Inovasi pembuatan makanan sejuk beku, terutama kuih muih tradisional telah berjaya membawa produk itu ke peringkat global, terutama dalam memenuhi citarasa jemaah haji dan umrah rakyat Malaysia di Tanah Suci Mekah dan Madinah.
![Gol sulung Mbappe bantu Real Madrid juarai Piala Super UEFA Gol sulung Mbappe bantu Real Madrid juarai Piala Super UEFA](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723679998_KylianMbappe.jpg)
Gol sulung Mbappe bantu Real Madrid juarai Piala Super UEFA
"Ia adalah malam yang hebat. Ia adalah detik yang hebat untuk saya. Dan kami memenangi kejuaraan, yang penting - di Madrid anda perlu sentiasa menang."
![“I love you Am, bahagialah di syurga firdausi” - Aufahanie “I love you Am, bahagialah di syurga firdausi” - Aufahanie](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723679258_AufahanieNidzaAfh.jpg)
“I love you Am, bahagialah di syurga firdausi” - Aufahanie
Air mata Aufahanie sudah kering meratapi pemergian abang tercinta, Nidza Afham yang ditemui meninggal dunia selepas dilaporkan hilang.
Konsert jelajah: Taylor Swift teruskan konsert London selepas ancaman keganasan
Taylor Swift akan meneruskan persembahan di London pada Khamis, meneruskan jelajah konsert terbesar dunia di tengah-tengah kebimbangan keselamatan susulan cubaan serangan Daesh memaksa pembatalan tarikh konsert di Vienna, minggu lalu.
Taliban rai ulang tahun ketiga pemerintahan Afghanistan
Kerajaan Taliban semalam meraikan ulang tahun ketiga pemerintahannya di Afghanistan dengan perarakan tentera yang memberi penghormatan kepada bom buatan sendiri yang digunakan ketika peperangan, pesawat pejuang dan perbarisan pasukan keselamatan.