Binghamton Research Days Student Presentations

Lily Chiu - What Do You Know About Brain Differences- Burns, Chiu, Rothman, Smargiassi.pdf

Expectation Versus Reality: Perceived Differences in Cognitive Ability Between Men and Women

Lily Chiu, Lily Chiu, Julia Smargiassi, Lauren Rothman, Kimberly Burns

Source Project

Social Science

Mentor: Kathleen Sterling

Abstract

In Western society, there is a common belief that there are clear differences between male and female brains. In our project, we hope to gain insight into the beliefs of undergraduate students regarding this very idea. We are surveying Binghamton University students about their perceptions regarding the differences in cognitive ability between cis-gender men and women. Our survey asks students if certain skills are gendered, which gender these skills are more closely associated with, and where students learned these stereotypes. These results will be compared to the current state of knowledge about cognitive differences between the sexes. We anticipate that students will overestimate the extent of brain differences between the sexes, as our culture has conditioned us to believe. Our goal is to enlighten others about the pervasiveness of neurosexism.