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Author: Ortner, Tuulia M. and Monika Sieverding
Date: 2008
Source: Sex Roles Volume 59, Numbers 3-4
Full Text Link: No full text link available
Synopsis:
Using a sample of 161 men and women (mean age=31.90) from Austria, the study looks at the effect of gender stereotype activation by priming the subjects for a spatial relations test.
Keywords:
Academia, Experiment, journal article, Austria, Gender theories, spatial cognition, gender stereotypes, psychology
Abstract:
The effects of gender stereotype activation by priming on performance in a spatial task were investigated among a mixed adult sample (including students) of 161 men and women (mean age = 31.90) from Austria (Europe). They were assigned to one of four experimental groups according to gender and stereotype activation condition. After a male or female gender stereotype activating task, participants worked on a test assessing mental rotation (three-dimensional cube test, Gittler 1990). A significant main effect of priming on the performance in the mental rotation task emerged. Cohen’s showed a pronounced gender difference emerging only in the female priming condition (d = .59), whereas it disappeared in the male priming condition (d = .01).