The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents.

dv said:

The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents.

Madness.

• Madness

Baggy trousers…

furious said:

• Madness

Baggy trousers…

Embarrassment.

dv said:

The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents.

Good one. “Matched for ability”, hmm.

Somewhere on the internet is a chart of ratings of top chess players over time. There’s a second chart for female players. Although in the past the female players had a much lower rating than male, if I remember correctly, recently the best female players have come up to almost the same ratings as male.

dv said:

The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents.

How did they conclude that the females’ performance changed, rather than the males’?

in the game of life, the ladies have been letting men feel like they’re winning since adam

Speedy said:

dv said:

The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents.

How did they conclude that the females’ performance changed, rather than the males’?

by not telling the males they were playing a woman?

ChrispenEvan said:

Speedy said:

dv said:

The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents.

How did they conclude that the females’ performance changed, rather than the males’?

by not telling the males they were playing a woman?

…but the article says they did.

Although they went to great effort to ensure that players were evenly matched and other variables minimised, their “findings” did not consider that the males’ performance may have (also) changed.

Speedy said:

ChrispenEvan said:

Speedy said:

How did they conclude that the females’ performance changed, rather than the males’?

by not telling the males they were playing a woman?

…but the article says they did.

Although they went to great effort to ensure that players were evenly matched and other variables minimised, their “findings” did not consider that the males’ performance may have (also) changed.

I concur that this facet seems to have been ignored.

Speedy said:

dv said:

The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents.

How did they conclude that the females’ performance changed, rather than the males’?

The males state of knowledge was held constant

Searching the paper that quote can’t be found speedy.

dv said:

Speedy said:

dv said:

The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents.

How did they conclude that the females’ performance changed, rather than the males’?

The males state of knowledge was held constant

that was my conclusion after reading that paper abeit not in detail. i usually just read the conclusion. Though i made my first comment before i read it.

dv said:

Speedy said:

dv said:

The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents.

How did they conclude that the females’ performance changed, rather than the males’?

The males state of knowledge was held constant

If so, there should have been two studies. The other where the females state of knowledge was held constant.

ChrispenEvan said:

Searching the paper that quote can’t be found speedy.

This is the part I skipped to (mind you, I have not read the entire thing either) …

In one game, both players were told that the y were playing with a same-se xopponent, in the other game they were told that they were playing with an opposite-sex opponent (whichcorresponded to reality).

If so, there should have been two studies. The other where the females state of knowledge was held constant.

I agree. Controlling for those things separately would have made this a better experiment.

Still, it’s interesting.

I think i’m missing something; the title states “role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport” but all i could find was an article about chess, which doesn’t seem particularly ultimate, even if it is intellectual sport.

dv said:

Speedy said:

dv said:

The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport

Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents.

How did they conclude that the females’ performance changed, rather than the males’?

The males state of knowledge was held constant

It appears that it was not. I have now read through the findings properly and they have discussed this …

Unfortunately, our design has two limits. First, since the performance of male and female playerswithin each competing pair was perfectly interdependent and since both were exposed to the samemanipulation, it is difficult to know with certainty whether females suffered a performanc e declineunder stereotype threat or whether their male opponent profited from the same manipulation,experiencing a ‘stereotype lift’, or both. We are inclined to give more credence to the firstinterpretation, considering that women also reported a more defensive approach whe n confronting amale opponent under stereotype threat, whereas the aggressiveness versus defensiveness of maleplayers did not vary as a function of experimental condition. Although our findings seem to suggest thatstereotype activation is more harmful to females than it is helpful to males, more systematic research isneeded before definite conclusi ons can be drawn.

Also…

our design did not allow us to test whether women would suffer a performance decline alsowhen confronted with male opponents, but witho ut being reminded of the stereotype. We suspect thatmixed-sex chess play is sufficient in and of itself to activate the stereotype, especially in chesstournaments in which women are a salient minority.

It appears they simply found that the challenges girls face (in relation to chess-playing performance) continue into adulthood …

girls have lower chess ratings than boyswhen entering competitions only in locales in which they are numerically underrepresented among thechess population.

Speedy said:

dv said:

Speedy said:

How did they conclude that the females’ performance changed, rather than the males’?

The males state of knowledge was held constant

It appears that it was not. I have now read through the findings properly and they have discussed this …

Unfortunately, our design has two limits. First, since the performance of male and female playerswithin each competing pair was perfectly interdependent and since both were exposed to the samemanipulation, it is difficult to know with certainty whether females suffered a performanc e declineunder stereotype threat or whether their male opponent profited from the same manipulation,experiencing a ‘stereotype lift’, or both. We are inclined to give more credence to the firstinterpretation, considering that women also reported a more defensive approach whe n confronting amale opponent under stereotype threat, whereas the aggressiveness versus defensiveness of maleplayers did not vary as a function of experimental condition. Although our findings seem to suggest thatstereotype activation is more harmful to females than it is helpful to males, more systematic research isneeded before definite conclusi ons can be drawn.

Also…

our design did not allow us to test whether women would suffer a performance decline alsowhen confronted with male opponents, but witho ut being reminded of the stereotype. We suspect thatmixed-sex chess play is sufficient in and of itself to activate the stereotype, especially in chesstournaments in which women are a salient minority.

It appears they simply found that the challenges girls face (in relation to chess-playing performance) continue into adulthood …

girls have lower chess ratings than boyswhen entering competitions only in locales in which they are numerically underrepresented among thechess population.

I think they are simply more interested in boys than chess.

thanks for reading it an interpreting it for me, speedy.

:-)

PermeateFree said:

Speedy said:

dv said:

The males state of knowledge was held constant

It appears that it was not. I have now read through the findings properly and they have discussed this …

Unfortunately, our design has two limits. First, since the performance of male and female playerswithin each competing pair was perfectly interdependent and since both were exposed to the samemanipulation, it is difficult to know with certainty whether females suffered a performanc e declineunder stereotype threat or whether their male opponent profited from the same manipulation,experiencing a ‘stereotype lift’, or both. We are inclined to give more credence to the firstinterpretation, considering that women also reported a more defensive approach whe n confronting amale opponent under stereotype threat, whereas the aggressiveness versus defensiveness of maleplayers did not vary as a function of experimental condition. Although our findings seem to suggest thatstereotype activation is more harmful to females than it is helpful to males, more systematic research isneeded before definite conclusi ons can be drawn.

Also…

our design did not allow us to test whether women would suffer a performance decline alsowhen confronted with male opponents, but witho ut being reminded of the stereotype. We suspect thatmixed-sex chess play is sufficient in and of itself to activate the stereotype, especially in chesstournaments in which women are a salient minority.

It appears they simply found that the challenges girls face (in relation to chess-playing performance) continue into adulthood …

girls have lower chess ratings than boyswhen entering competitions only in locales in which they are numerically underrepresented among thechess population.

I think they are simply more interested in boys than chess.

Yes, but that’s assuming that all girls who are more interested in boys become women who are more interested in men. Oh dear, that’s would be an entirely different study altogether with even more complicated variables. Do girls who are not interested in boys perform better in chess and hence, become better adult chess players? Does this then negate this study? Arrgghh…need more research funding! :)

ChrispenEvan said:

thanks for reading it an interpreting it for me, speedy.

:-)

It was a pleasure :)

Speedy said:

PermeateFree said:

Speedy said:

It appears that it was not. I have now read through the findings properly and they have discussed this …

Unfortunately, our design has two limits. First, since the performance of male and female playerswithin each competing pair was perfectly interdependent and since both were exposed to the samemanipulation, it is difficult to know with certainty whether females suffered a performanc e declineunder stereotype threat or whether their male opponent profited from the same manipulation,experiencing a ‘stereotype lift’, or both. We are inclined to give more credence to the firstinterpretation, considering that women also reported a more defensive approach whe n confronting amale opponent under stereotype threat, whereas the aggressiveness versus defensiveness of maleplayers did not vary as a function of experimental condition. Although our findings seem to suggest thatstereotype activation is more harmful to females than it is helpful to males, more systematic research isneeded before definite conclusi ons can be drawn.

Also…

our design did not allow us to test whether women would suffer a performance decline alsowhen confronted with male opponents, but witho ut being reminded of the stereotype. We suspect thatmixed-sex chess play is sufficient in and of itself to activate the stereotype, especially in chesstournaments in which women are a salient minority.

It appears they simply found that the challenges girls face (in relation to chess-playing performance) continue into adulthood …

girls have lower chess ratings than boyswhen entering competitions only in locales in which they are numerically underrepresented among thechess population.

I think they are simply more interested in boys than chess.

Yes, but that’s assuming that all girls who are more interested in boys become women who are more interested in men. Oh dear, that’s would be an entirely different study altogether with even more complicated variables. Do girls who are not interested in boys perform better in chess and hence, become better adult chess players? Does this then negate this study? Arrgghh…need more research funding! :)

Well whatever the situation, I am well pleased after all the expense of educating girls and women, is they still know their place.

PermeateFree said:

Well whatever the situation, I am well pleased after all the expense of educating girls and women, is they still know their place.

You imply that “their place” is inferior in some way.

I am certain that whatever “their place” is, it is of some evolutionary advantage. Maybe transition was onto something…

transition said:

in the game of life, the ladies have been letting men feel like they’re winning since adam

Like I said before, need more research funding, dammit! :)

Thanks to Shaun and Jen for this video which alerted me to the existence of this study.

Can Women Chess? Ft. Black Pigeon Speaks

I wonder how the results would compare if instead of male/female groups they had three mixed sex groups, based on self-image:

- Those with an inflated image of their ability at chess
- Those with an accurate image
- Those with a low image

The Rev Dodgson said:

I wonder how the results would compare if instead of male/female groups they had three mixed sex groups, based on self-image:

- Those with an inflated image of their ability at chess
- Those with an accurate image
- Those with a low image

And people who might be good at chess but just not very competitive by nature.

> in the game of life, the ladies have been letting men feel like they’re winning since adam.

Did they learn that from salesmen? A salesman will always deliberately lose to a potential customer at golf.

mollwollfumble said:

> in the game of life, the ladies have been letting men feel like they’re winning since adam.

Did they learn that from salesmen? A salesman will always deliberately lose to a potential customer at golf.

Or maybe from priests:

Dammit brother, I think you are trying to win.

It’s funny, there is a stack of public common wisdom suggesting that chess proficiency is correlated with Aspergers, but I can’t find any studies confirming, or even testing, that.

dv said:

It’s funny, there is a stack of public common wisdom suggesting that chess proficiency is correlated with Aspergers, but I can’t find any studies confirming, or even testing, that.

I’d say that there’s more likely to correlation with sociopath.

I think it possible, that sexual egalitarianism (gender neutrality), being an unfinished business (but imposing) can amplify some things that can be presented as the power of gender stereotypes.

It’s not right-thinking to mention so, I could otherwise have panzied it up into psychological correctness.

mollwollfumble said:

dv said:

It’s funny, there is a stack of public common wisdom suggesting that chess proficiency is correlated with Aspergers, but I can’t find any studies confirming, or even testing, that.

I’d say that there’s more likely to correlation with sociopath.

harsh