Gender Differences in Self-Perception and Negative Recall Biases

This study investigated gender differences inthe accuracy of self-perceptions and whetherself-perception biases are related to negative recallbiases. Participants were 275 female and 213 malecollege students. Approximately 10% of the participantswere minorities (mostly African American and Asian). Ona masculine task, gender differences in self-perceptionswere found for three measures of accuracy: The accuracy of self-evaluations, calibration,and response bias. Females underestimated theirperformance, were less well calibrated, and showed amore conservative response bias than did males. Ashypothesized, no gender differences in the accuracy ofself-evaluations were found for feminine and neutraltasks. Participants' expectancies mediated the genderdifferences in post task self-evaluations ofperformance. In addition, evidence for a negative recallbias was found. Females were more likely than males torecall their mistakes even with performance and accuracyof self-evaluations controlled. The implications of females' greater self-perception biases onmasculine tasks are discussed and suggestions for futureresearch are made.     

INCREMENTAL VALIDITY OF PERCEPTUAL SPEED AND ACCURACY OVER GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY

This study extends previous research by examining the incremental validity of a specific aptitude, perceptual speed and accuracy (PS), when it is operationalized as both the number correct (NC) and the number wrong (NW). We test the hypotheses that the NC on the PS test predicts the criterion of task performance and the NW predicts (negatively) rules compliance (RC). Based on the responses of 133 warehouse workers, hierarchical regression analyses supported both hypotheses. After controlling for respondents' demographic characteristics (race, gender, and age) and general mental ability (GMA), the NC on the PS test accounted for incremental validity in prediction of task performance (Δ R = .06, 15% increase), and the NW on the PS test accounted for substantial incremental validity in prediction of (lack of) RC (Δ R = .16, 73% increase). In addition, after controlling for demographic characteristics and both GMA and the specific ability, Conscientiousness accounted for unique validity in prediction of both task performance (Δ R = .07, 15% increase) and RC (Δ R = .06, 16% increase). Practical and theoretical implications for selection practices and models of job performance are discussed.     

Core self-evaluations as a moderator of the relationship between task complexity,job resources,and performance

In this study we examined the role of trait core self-evaluations (CSE) as a person-related resource, hypothesizing that the relationship between task complexity and performance would be positive for people high in trait CSE and negative for people low in trait CSE. Moreover, we hypothesized that trait CSE would influence the buffering effect of job-related resources on the complexity–performance relationship, with such a buffering effect showing for people high but not for people low in trait CSE. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a five-day spanning experience sampling study. Our results showed that trait CSE indeed influenced the complexity–performance relationship in the sense that this relationship was only positive for employees high in CSE. Results on the hypothesized three-way interaction between task complexity, job-related resources, and CSE were less univocal as only one out of four three-way interactions approached conventional levels of significance. By showing that the complexity–performance relationship is only positive for employees high in CSE, our results go against the well-accepted idea that challenge demands act as a two-edged sword for all employees alike. Instead, the effect of challenge demands on performance depends on the individual’s level of person-related resources.     

Evaluation,self-awareness,and task performance

Two contradictory hypotheses regarding the effect of self-attention or self-awareness on task performance are considered. Recent research on test anxiety indicates that self-awareness interferes with task performance by decreasing the proportion of attention paid to the task. Wicklund and Duval's (1971) theory of objective self-awareness predicts the opposite: that self-awareness will induce a person to try harder and to perform at a higher level. Experimental evidence indicates that both hypotheses are correct, each at a different level of evaluation. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for a unified social-psychological theory of evaluative self-awareness which could account for findings now classed under separate headings such as test anxiety, self-awareness, and social facilitation.     

Self-evaluation,self-reinforcement,and locus of control

Two verbal recognition memory tests were administered to 24 internals and 24 externals. Subjects were required to self-evaluate (SE) their responses on the first test and both SE and self-reinforce (SR) on the second. There were no internal-external differences in performance accuracy on either task, but internals gave themselves consistently higher self-evaluations, administered more positive SR and less negative SR. There were no differences in the criteria used by the two groups for SR. SR differences appeared to be a function of the differential SE. It was suggested that external locus of control could be viewed as a self-regulation deficit. Externals are hypothesized to be unable to evaluate their own behavior adequately in the absence of external input and therefore do not make effective use of self-reinforcement. Discussion also made reference to the process of self-regulation.     

Gender diversity and motivation in collaborative learning groups: the mediating role of group discussion quality

Collaborative learning is often used in higher education to help students develop their teamwork skills and acquire curricular knowledge. In this paper we test a mediation model in which the quality of group discussions mediates the impact of gender diversity and group motivation on collaborative learning effectiveness. Our results show that the proportion of women in groups, and the group level need for cognition and core self-evaluations (within group average) positively predict discussion quality that in turn predicts group (academic) performance. Our results show that discussion quality fully mediates the effects of need for cognition and core self-evaluations on group performance. The effect for gender diversity on group performance is only partly mediated by discussion quality.     

Accuracy of estimates in the social comparison of abilities

An experiment was conducted to test the proposition that comparison with others similar to oneself in performance affords more accurate self-evaluations than comparison with dissimilar others. A previous study presumably demonstrating this effect (R. Radloff, 1966, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Suplement, 1, 6–26) was reinterpreted. It was suggested that in that particular experiment, performance dissimilarity of comparison others may have been confounded with subjects' disconfirmed expectancies concerning own performance. In the present experiment, similarity of comparison others (manipulated via performance extremity relative to others in the group) was orthogonally manipulated to consistency (versus inconsistency) with an expectancy. As predicted, inconsistency with expectancy exerted adverse effects on the accuracy of self-evaluations whereas dissimilarity from comparison others did not. Significance of the findings for social comparison processes was discussed.     

Evidence that blatant versus subtle stereotype threat cues impact performance through dual processes

An experiment tested three competing hypotheses for how blatant and subtle stereotype threat cues influence the performance of female sports participants on a golf-putting task. A “predominant” model predicts that blatant threat cues have a more negative effect on performance than subtle threat cues, whereas an “additive” model predicts that both cues combine to have a greater negative effect than either threat cue alone. However, a “dual process” model predicts that each threat cue has an independent negative influence through separate mechanisms. To test these predictions, we varied the presence of blatant (e.g., the task frame) and subtle cues (e.g., the gender of the experimenter) for negative stereotypes about female athletes, and then measured both the number of strokes required to finish the course and accuracy on the last putt of each hole. The results supported the dual process model prediction: females required more strokes to finish the golf task when it was framed as measuring gender differences compared to racial differences in athletic ability, and females performed less accurately on the last putt of each hole in the presence of a male versus a female experimenter. The discussion focuses on how the presence of multiple stereotype threat cues can induce independent mechanisms that may have separate but simultaneously deleterious effects on performance.     

A Source Of Metacomprehension Inaccuracy

In the present study we examined the basis of students' self-evaluations of comprehension performance. We manipulated text difficulty to maximize performance variability across reading trials and to minimize the likelihood of giving similar performance evaluations across trials. Students were allowed to acquire task (prior) experience across nine reading trials. A path model analysis was then used to examine the basis of students' self-evaluations within and across trials 10, 11, and 12. The results showed that despite nine learning trials, students did not assess performance based on each individual trial (proximal experience). Rather, self-evaluations were influenced by prior trials (distal experience). Thus, immediate self-evaluations are not assessments of immediate performance but assessments of generalized self-representations of ability formed from distal experience.     

Stereotype validation and intellectual performance: Negative implications for future achievement

Previous research has found that activating negative stereotypes after completion of a task can lead people to feel more certain that they performed poorly (i.e., stereotype validation). The current research examined the implications that stereotype validation may hold for future performance. In two studies, the accessibility of gender stereotypes was manipulated after participants completed an initial test on a topic. After reporting perceptions of their performance, participants completed a follow-up test on the same subject. Consistent with hypotheses, activating negative stereotypes after the initial test was found to increase certainty in negative performance evaluations among stigmatized participants. Importantly, this higher certainty – triggered by stereotypes – predicted decreased performance on the later, follow-up test.     

Doing good buffers against feeling bad: Prosocial impact compensates for negative task and self-evaluations

Although evidence suggests that negative task and self-evaluations are associated with emotional exhaustion, little research has examined factors that buffer against these effects. We propose that perceived prosocial impact, the experience of helping others, compensates for negative task and self-evaluations by focusing attention on positive outcomes for others. In Study 1, perceived prosocial impact attenuated the associations of low intrinsic motivation and core self-evaluations with emotional exhaustion among professional fundraisers. Study 2 replicated these results among public sanitation employees and extended them to supervisor performance ratings. Mediated moderation analyses indicated that by protecting against emotional exhaustion, perceived prosocial impact compensated for low intrinsic motivation and core self-evaluations to predict higher performance ratings. Our studies extend theory and research on burnout, helping, and citizenship.     

A key role for experimental task performance: effects of math talent, gender and performance on the neural correlates of mental rotation

The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying superior cognitive performance are a research area of high interest. The majority of studies on the brain-performance relationship assessed the effects of capability-related group factors (e.g. talent, gender) on task-related brain activations while only few studies examined the effect of the inherent experimental task performance factor. In this functional MRI study, we combined both approaches and simultaneously assessed the effects of three relatively independent factors on the neurofunctional correlates of mental rotation in same-aged adolescents: math talent (gifted/controls: 17/17), gender (male/female: 16/18) and experimental task performance (median split on accuracy; high/low: 17/17). Better experimental task performance of mathematically gifted vs. control subjects and male vs. female subjects validated the selected paradigm. Activation of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was identified as a common effect of mathematical giftedness, gender and experimental task performance. However, multiple linear regression analyses (stepwise) indicated experimental task performance as the only predictor of parietal activations. In conclusion, increased activation of the IPL represents a positive neural correlate of mental rotation performance, irrespective of but consistent with the obtained neurocognitive and behavioral effects of math talent and gender. As experimental performance may strongly affect task-related activations this factor needs to be considered in capability-related group comparison studies on the brain-performance relationship.     

The contribution of judgment scale to the unskilled-and-unaware phenomenon: How evaluating others can exaggerate over- (and under-) confidence

The unskilled-and-unaware phenomenon occurs when low performers tend to overestimate their performance on a task, whereas high performers judge their performance more accurately (and sometimes underestimate it). In previous research, this phenomenon has been observed for a variety of cognitive tasks and judgment scales. However, the role of judgment scale in producing the unskilled-and-unaware phenomenon has not been systematically investigated. Thus, we present four studies in which all participants judged their performance on both a relative scale (percentile rank) and an absolute scale (number correct). The studies included a variety of performance tasks (general knowledge questions, math problems, introductory psychology questions, and logic questions) and test formats (multiple-choice, recall). Across all tasks and formats, the percentile-rank judgments were less accurate than the absolute judgments, particularly for low and high performers. Furthermore, in Studies 1–3, the absolute judgments were highly accurate, even when the percentile-rank judgments were not. Thus, differences in the accuracy of percentile-rank judgments across skill levels do not always represent differences in self-awareness, but rather they may arise from difficulties that performers have at evaluating how well others are performing. Most importantly, the unskilled-and-unaware phenomenon on a relative scale does not guarantee inaccurate self-evaluations of absolute performance.     

Relationship of core self-evaluations to goal setting, motivation, and performance.

A newly developed personality taxonomy suggests that self-esteem, locus of control, generalized self-efficacy, and neuroticism form a broad personality trait termed core self-evaluations. The authors hypothesized that this broad trait is related to motivation and performance. To test this hypothesis, 3 studies were conducted. Study 1 showed that the 4 dispositions loaded on 1 higher order factor. Study 2 demonstrated that the higher order trait was related to task motivation and performance in a laboratory setting. Study 3 showed that the core trait was related to task activity, productivity as measured by sales volume, and the rated performance of insurance agents. Results also revealed that the core self-evaluations trait was related to goal-setting behavior. In addition, when the 4 core traits were investigated as 1 nomological network, they proved to be more consistent predictors of job behaviors than when used in isolation.     

The influence of success and failure experiences on agency

Agency is—besides communion—a basic dimension of traits. It can be specifically linked to behavioral outcomes, to status, mastery, self‐esteem and to success. The present paper analyzes the situational malleability of agency. Two studies tested whether an individual's agency (but not communion) is situationally influenced by the experience of success versus failure at a task, as well as whether this effect is the same for men and women. Supporting our hypotheses, the induction of success versus failure experiences led to changes in agency that were independent of actual performance, independent of type of task (memorizing vs. face recognition), independent of induction methodology (easy vs. difficult task vs. manipulated performance feedback), and independent of self‐esteem, initial level of agency and of the participants' gender. Communion was not influenced by this kind of experience. Implications for both the basic dimension of agency and for theories on gender and gender stereotypes are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of state core self-evaluations on task performance,organizational citizenship behaviour,and counterproductive work behaviour

Although the personality–performance relationship has been studied extensively, most studies focused on the relationship between between-person differences in the Big Five personality dimensions and between-person differences in job performance. The current paper extends this research in two ways. First, we build on core self-evaluations (CSEs): an alternative, broad personality dimension that has proven to be a good predictor of job performance. Second, we tested concurrent and lagged within-person relationships between CSEs and task performance, organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). To this end, we conducted two experience sampling studies; the first one assessing the relationship between state CSEs and levels of momentary task performance and OCB, and a second study in which employees reported on their level of state CSEs and momentary CWB. Results showed that there is substantial within-person variability in CSEs and that these within-person fluctuations relate to within-person variation in task performance, OCB, and CWB towards the organization, and CWB towards the individual. Moreover, CSEs prospectively predicted within-person differences in task performance and CWB towards the organization, whereas the reversed effect did not hold. These findings tentatively suggest that state CSEs predict performance, rather than the other way around.     

Stereotype threat in classroom settings: The interactive effect of domain identification,task difficulty and stereotype threat on female students' maths performance

Background. Stereotype threat research revealed that negative stereotypes can disrupt the performance of persons targeted by such stereotypes. This paper contributes to stereotype threat research by providing evidence that domain identification and the difficulty level of test items moderate stereotype threat effects on female students' maths performance. Aims. The study was designed to test theoretical ideas derived from stereotype threat theory and assumptions outlined in the Yerkes–Dodson law proposing a nonlinear relationship between arousal, task difficulty and performance. Sample. Participants were 108 high school students attending secondary schools. Method. Participants worked on a test comprising maths problems of different difficulty levels. Half of the participants learned that the test had been shown to produce gender differences (stereotype threat). The other half learned that the test had been shown not to produce gender differences (no threat). The degree to which participants identify with the domain of maths was included as a quasi‐experimental factor. Results. Maths‐identified female students showed performance decrements under conditions of stereotype threat. Moreover, the stereotype threat manipulation had different effects on low and high domain identifiers' performance depending on test item difficulty. On difficult items, low identifiers showed higher performance under threat (vs. no threat) whereas the reverse was true in high identifiers. This interaction effect did not emerge on easy items. Conclusions. Domain identification and test item difficulty are two important factors that need to be considered in the attempt to understand the impact of stereotype threat on performance.     

Gender Differences and Cognitive Correlates of Mathematical Skills in School-Aged Children

Published information concerning the influence of gender on mathematical ability tests has been controversial. The present study examines the performance of school-aged boys and girls from two age groups on several mathematical tasks and analyzes the predictive value of a verbal fluency test and a spatial test on those mathematical tasks. More specifically, our research attempts to answer the following two questions: (1) Are gender differences in mathematical test performance among children interrelated with age and (2) do verbal and spatial nonmathematical tests mediate gender effects on mathematical test performance? Two hundred and seventy-eight 7- to 10-year-old children and 248 13- to 16-year-olds were selected from schools in Colombia and Mexico (231 boys and 295 girls). The age effect was found to be significant for all measures, with scores improving with age. Results showed that boys and girls in both age groups scored similarly in most subtests, but that differences emerged in the performance of mental mathematical operations and in resolving arithmetical problems. In the latter – but not in mental math – older boys outperformed older girls, whereas no gender differences were observed in the younger groups. After controlling for age, it was found that the spatial test was, indeed, a significant mediator of gender effects, while the verbal task was not.     

Creativity in Men and Women: Threat,Other-Interest,and Self-Assessment

Previous research into gender and creativity has provided little evidence for consistent differences between men and women in creative performance. This research revisits this topic by proposing a person × situation approach, arguing that gender differences in creative performance only occur in certain contexts, but not others. Based on the assumption that men and women tend to differ in self versus other orientation, experimental instructions varied whether our participants’ (n = 169) creative efforts benefit the self or others, and whether creativity occurred under conditions of threat or not. In the absence of threat, women outperformed men in the originality of their creative efforts when the task was beneficial to others. This effect was eliminated in the presence of competitive threat. In contrast to some previous work, threat also increased creative performance under some circumstances. Results also revealed gender differences in self-assessment of creativity such that women seemed to be somewhat more attuned to the objective level of the originality of their creative performance than men. The discussion focuses on implications for research on gender differences in creativity, arguing that researchers must appreciate that gender differences in creativity, so far as they exist, are likely embedded in specific situational contexts.