To access full-text versions of many of the publications below go to https://researchgate.net and search for my name.
Abstracts of Published Work
• Beyer, S. (2022). College students’ political attitudes affect negative stereotypes about social groups. Social Sciences, 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/ socsci11080321
This study examined the relations between political attitudes and negative stereotypes in undergraduates by employing 4 measures of stereotypes: modern sexism, modern racism, feelings about 20 social groups, and ratings of the intelligence of these social groups. It was hypothesized that conservatives and Republicans alike would show more evidence of negative stereotypes than liberals and Democrats, especially for disadvantaged social groups. The study revealed that, indeed, Republicans showed stronger evidence of negative stereotypes but that Democrats also harbor some biases. Importantly, the social groups for whom Democrats and Republicans show negative stereotypes differed greatly. Republicans had considerably more negative stereotypes against racial and religious minorities, and particularly against individuals who do not identify with the cis-gender, heterosexual norm. Thus, the targets of Republicans’ stereotypes were groups that have traditionally been subjected to discrimination. Democrats, on the other hand, held stronger negative stereotypes against groups that are more politically powerful, such as Caucasians and Christians.
• Beyer, S. (2020). Relation between college students’ conservatism and negative stereotypes about social groups. Social Sciences, 9(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9120224
This study examined the interrelations among political attitudes and negative stereotypes in U.S. undergraduates. Participants answered questions measuring conservatism, social dominance orientation, Global Belief in a Just World, and religiosity. This research employed two measures of stereotypes: modern sexism and feelings about 15 social groups. It was hypothesized that conservatives would show more evidence of negative stereotypes than liberals would. The study revealed that indeed conservatives show stronger evidence of negative stereotypes, but that liberals also harbor some biases. Importantly, the social groups against whom conservatives and liberals are stereotyped differed greatly. Conservatives showed considerably more negative stereotypes against racial and religious minorities, and particularly against those who do not identify with the cis-gender, heterosexual norm. Thus, the targets of conservatives’ stereotypes were groups that have traditionally been subject to discrimination. Liberals held stronger stereotypes against groups that are more politically powerful, such as Caucasians and Christians.
• Beyer, S. (2020). Special issue editorial: Re-imagining who does STEM – Part 2. International Journal of Gender, Science, & Technology, 12(1), 1-3.
• Beyer, S. (2020). Co-editor of a special issue for the journal International Journal of Gender, Science, and Technology.
• Beyer, S. (2019). Women and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). In Oxford Bibliographies in Psychology, D. S. Dunn (ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
• Beyer, S. (2018). Low awareness of occupational segregation and the gender pay gap: Nochanges over a 16-year span. Current Psychology, 37(1), 373-389.doi: 10.1007/s12144-016-9521-4
Three studies conducted in three different decades (1996, 2007, and 2012) investigated awareness of occupation- al segregation and the gender pay gap. Participants’ estimates of the percentage of female workers in an occupation and their pay were compared to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data to assess the accuracy of the estimates. The results indicated that although college students were aware of the existence of oc- cupational segregation and the gender pay gap, they were unaware of the magnitude of occupational segregation by gen- der and substantially underestimated the size of the gender pay gap. Over a 16-year period this low awareness of gender is- sues in the workplace remained remarkably consistent, which could contribute to complacency about the gender pay gap and thereby maintain the status quo. Study 2 also found that indi- viduals high in modern sexism compared to those low in modern sexism were less aware of the gender pay gap. The implications of low awareness of these gender issues are discussed.
• Beyer, S. (2017/18). Editor of a special issue of the journal Social Scienceson the topic “Women in Male-dominated Domains”. Published 13 articles available at: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/socsci/special_issues/Male-Dominated
• Beyer, S. (2016). Gender and self. In D. S. Dunn (ed.) Oxford Bibliographies in Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
In social psychology, the self as an area of serious empirical inquiry dates back only about thirty to forty years. Significant social psychological research efforts on gender date back approximately forty to fifty years, marked by the publication of the landmark Maccoby and Jacklin 1974 book on sex differences. Social psychological research on the nexus between self and gender began in earnest in the 1980s, accelerating thereafter. Even twenty years ago few social psychology textbooks included a chapter on the self or on gender. The first textbooks to discuss the self often presented gender in the same chapter, revealing the implicit assumption that self and gender are intricately linked. Most social psychology textbooks now do cover the self, and many also devote a chapter to gender in response to the highly accelerated number of publications on the subjects in the last twenty to thirty years. To point the reader to the most up-to-date research on gender and the self from a social psychological perspective, most of the readings cited date back fewer than ten years, save for the inclusion of a few important and influential older publications. The emphasis is squarely on empirical, rather than purely theoretical or philosophical, work. The reviewed literature is international in scope, including research conducted in a multitude of countries. Problematic inconsistencies in terminology abound. Researchers often use terms such as self-concept, self-construal, self-esteem, self-worth, self-efficacy, or self-perception synonymously or do not clearly differentiate among these highly interrelated terms. The reader should be aware that many of the articles presented here discuss research on multiple concepts and with various foci (e.g., gender, race, age, socioeconomic status, culture). For both of these reasons, the reader is advised to consult multiple headings. Internal cross-references are intended to help in this process. Gender and the self is a field that is evolving quickly, with “hot” topics that have engendered a plethora of research. Many of these popular topics have important real-world applications. As is generally the case for relatively new fields of inquiry, despite the large amount of published empirical work, there is sparse theoretical development around the intersection of self and gender (at least in an overarching and integrative rather than highly specific way). An authoritative work of this nature has yet to be published, but as the field matures, it is only a matter of time that greater theoretical and empirical synthesis of the literatures on the self on the one hand and gender on the other hand will follow. Unless otherwise indicated research participants were American.
• Beyer, S. (2016). Women in CS: Deterrents. In P. A. Laplante (ed.) Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology (2nd ed.). CRC Group. doi: 10.1081/E-ECST2-120054030
This entry reviews empirical research on female underrepresentation in computer science (CS) at the under- graduate level. Factors that serve as deterrents include negative stereotypes about CS, the perception that CS is incompatible with communal goals highly valued by many women such as helping others and making a difference, women’s sense of not belonging in CS, lower computing self-efficacy and less experience with computing, negative experiences in CS courses, and the paucity of appealing role models. To make CS more appealing to women, these factors need to be addressed.
• Beyer, S. (2015). Women and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). In D. S. Dunn (ed.), Oxford Bibliographies in Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
A nation's prosperity depends to a significant degree on a highly educated workforce in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). If the US continues to educate scientists and engineers at current levels, there will be a shortage of 1 million STEM workers in the next decade adversely affecting global competitiveness (Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 2012). In 2010 only 28% of the US STEM workforce was female (National Science Foundation, 2013). If more women were to enter STEM, this would not only relieve the shortage of STEM workers, but also provide lucrative jobs to women, and include their perspectives, fostering innovation and scientific progress. Shortages of women in STEM exist in other countries and are being addressed with varying levels of success. However, the majority of research efforts examining the reasons behind women's underrepresentation in STEM have been conducted in the US, often funded by the US government (e.g., by the National Science Foundations "Broadening Participation in Computing" and "Research on Gender in Science and Engineering" programs). The theories researchers employ focus on different kinds of explanations for female underrepresentation in STEM with varying ramifications and implications for interventions. For example, some researchers focus on biological explanations, attributing female underrepresentation in STEM to gender differences in quantitative abilities. Other researchers focus on psychological factors such as stereotype threat, women's low self-efficacy in male-dominated fields, a lack of sense of belonging, and negative stereotypes about STEM that conflict with women's gender roles and values. Furthermore, there exist cultural and institutional barriers that deter women or make it difficult for them to succeed in STEM fields. These include a lack of role models, the role of parents in encouraging females, pedagogical issues, difficulties in the workplace such as a chilly climate, problems with work-life balance that disproportionately affect women who typically are the primary caretakers of children and elderly parents, and outright bias and discrimination. Furthermore, it is important to discuss effective intervention strategies. This entry also examines whether women's underrepresentation in STEM is a cross-cultural phenomenon. Striving for currency, I will focus almost exclusively on work that has been published within the last 10 years. Rather than presenting research on individual STEM disciplines separately, this entry discusses the major issues and causes across the disciplines. This provides for a less repetitive presentation and facilitates comparisons within one topic across disciplines (e.g., under the heading self-efficacy the reader can compare research on computer science, technology, and engineering). I also note that certain STEM fields are overrepresented among research on specific causes. For example, most research on stereotype threat focuses on math. And certain STEM fields have received more research attention than others. Computer science, science as a general area, and engineering have been well studied. Math has been studied well in K-12 samples, but less well in higher education. Specific science fields like physics, astronomy, chemistry, or the geosciences have received much less attention.
• Beyer, S. (2014). Why are women underrepresented in Computer Science? Gender differences in stereotypes, self-efficacy, values, and interests and predictors of future CS course taking and grades. Computer Science Education, 24(2/3), 153-192. doi: 10.1080/08993408.2014.963363
This study addresses why women are underrepresented in Computer Science (CS). Data from 1319 American first-year college students (872 female, 447 male) indicate that gender differences in computer self-efficacy, stereotypes, interests, values, interpersonal orientation, and personality exist. If students had had a positive experience in their first CS course they had a stronger intention to take another CS course. A subset of 128 students (68 females, 60 males) took a CS course up to one year later. Students who were interested in CS, had high computer self-efficacy, were low in family orientation, low in conscientiousness, and low in openness to experiences were more likely to take CS courses. Furthermore, individuals who were highly conscientious and low in relational-interdependent self-construal earned the highest CS grades. Efforts to improve women's representation in CS should bear these results in mind.
• Beyer, S. (2013). Gender and self. In D. S. Dunn (ed.), Oxford Bibliographies in Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
In social psychology, the self as an area of serious empirical inquiry dates back only about thirty to forty years. Significant social psychological research efforts on gender date back approximately forty to fifty years, marked by the publication of the landmark Maccoby and Jacklin 1974 book on sex differences. Social psychological research on the nexus between self and gender began in earnest in the 1980s, accelerating thereafter. Even twenty years ago few social psychology textbooks included a chapter on the self or on gender. The first textbooks to discuss the self often presented gender in the same chapter, revealing the implicit assumption that self and gender are intricately linked. Most social psychology textbooks now do cover the self, and some also devote a chapter to gender in response to the highly accelerated number of publications on the subjects in the last twenty years. To point the reader to the most up-to-date research on gender and the self from a social psychological perspective, most of the readings cited date back fewer than ten years, save for the inclusion of a few important and influential older publications. The emphasis is squarely on empirical, rather than purely theoretical or philosophical, work. The reviewed literature is international in scope, including research conducted in a multitude of countries. Problematic inconsistencies in terminology abound. Researchers often use terms such as self-concept, self-construal, self-esteem, self-worth, self-efficacy, or self-perception synonymously or do not clearly differentiate among these highly interrelated terms. The reader should be aware that many of the articles presented here discuss research on multiple concepts and with various foci (e.g., gender, race, age, socioeconomic status, culture). For both of these reasons, the reader is advised to consult multiple headings. Internal cross-references are intended to help in this process. Gender and the self is a field that is evolving quickly, with “hot†topics that have engendered a plethora of research. Many of these popular topics have important real-world applications. As is generally the case for relatively new fields of inquiry, despite the large amount of published empirical work, there is sparse theoretical development around the intersection of self and gender (at least in an overarching and integrative rather than highly specific way). An authoritative work of this nature has yet to be published, but as the field matures, it is only a matter of time that greater theoretical and empirical synthesis of the literatures on the self on the one hand and gender on the other hand will follow. Unless otherwise indicated research participants were American.
• Beyer, S. (2010). Book review: Taking many sides. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34, 134-135.
• Beyer, S. (2009). Predictors of female and male Computer Science students' grades. (1-page invited essay)
http://www.areeonline
• Beyer, S. (2008). Predictors of female and male Computer Science students' grades. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 14, 377-409.
This study investigated gender differences in predictors of CS grades with the goal of assembling a profile of CS majors who do well in their courses. This research found that oftentimes what is beneficial for female majors also aids males' performance. For male and female majors alike intrinsic motivation, being emotionally healthy, and experiencing little stress predicted high CS grades. Both males and females thrived academically when they had excellent instructors using good pedagogical practices. However, several predictors of CS grades were gender-specific. Female majors with positive stereotypes about CS students, who had had female computer teachers in middle school, felt interconnected with others, felt that peers are not cliquish, and perceived that faculty treat female students equitably had higher CS grades than female majors who scored lower on these variables. Overall, female majors' grades could be predicted more accurately than males. Interestingly, previous computer experience was not related to CS grades. This knowledge can be harnessed to provide an optimal environment for all students, especially females, to enhance their CS course performance, and ultimately increase retention in the major.
• Beyer, S. (2008). Gender differences and intra-gender differences amongst Management Information Systems students. Journal of Information Science Education. Journal of Information Science Education, 19, 301-310.
Few women major in Management Information Systems (MIS). The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons for women's underrepresentation in MIS. In addition to examining gender differences, an important and novel goal of this study is to examine intra-gender differences in undergraduate students, i.e., differences among female MIS majors and female students who enrolled in MIS courses as a Business elective (i.e., non-majors). This study found that women's experience with and self-efficacy regarding computers were much lower than men's, but that they did not have more negative stereotypes and attitudes toward the field. Overall female students had more positive attitudes towards their MIS courses and instructors than male students did. One of the most interesting findings was the importance of female high school computer teachers and role models for female students. Importantly, there was very strong evidence for intra-gender differences. Female majors had much higher computer self-efficacy, computer experience, had more positive attitudes toward MIS, and were more likely to have had female computer teachers in high school compared to female non-majors. The implications of these findings for MIS are discussed.
• Beyer, S. (2007). The evolution of research questions for a longitudinal study of gender differences in CS students. AREE (Annals of Research on Engineering Education), 3(1), np. Also available on http://www.areeonline.org/CMS/2951/3168/6909/6767/6859.aspx
• Beyer, S., & Haller, S. (2006). Gender differences and intra-gender differences in Computer Science students: Are female CS majors more similar to male CS majors or female non-majors? Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 12, 337-365.
This paper presents the findings of a study investigating 1. Intra-gender differences i.e., differences between female Computer Science (CS) majors and female non-majors and 2. Gender differences in CS students. To this end, we compared female CS majors, female non-majors, male CS majors and male non-majors. We found evidence for substantial gender differences on social psychological variables such as values, interests, and computer self-efficacy. However, we also found that in many respects (e.g., attitudes towards CS, CS careers, and work-life balance) female majors were more similar to male majors than to female non-majors. We discuss the implications of these findings for women's underrepresentation in CS.
• Beyer, S. (2006). Gender differences in Computer Science and MIS majors. In E. M. Trauth (ed.), Encyclopedia of Gender and Information Technology (pp. 109-115). Hershey, PA: Idea Publishing.
Why do so few women major in Computer Science (CS) or Management Information Systems (MIS)? Are the reasons for women's underrepresentation in these two disciplines the same? I will address these issues by reporting on my research on female and male undergraduates majoring in CS or MIS. I hypothesize that results from one area of Information Technology (IT), such as CS, do not necessarily generalize to other areas of IT, such as MIS.
• Beyer, S., & DeKeuster, M. (2006). Women majoring in Computer Science or Management Information Systems: A comparative analysis. In J. M. Cohoon & W. Aspray (eds.), Women and Information Technology: Research on under-representation (pp. 323-349). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
This chapter discusses our research on three issues related to women's representation in undergraduate Information Technology (IT) majors. First, we present our findings regarding gender differences in Computer Science (CS) and Management Information Systems (MIS) students. Second, we discuss predictors of female and male students' academic success in CS and MIS. Third, we compare our findings for CS and MIS students.
• Beyer, S., DeKeuster, M., Walter, K., Colar, M., & Holcomb, C. (2005). Changes in CS students' attitudes towards CS over time: An examination of gender differences. Proceedings of the Thirty-sixth SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education.
Few women major in Computer Science (CS), which creates a serious bottleneck of women qualified to enter into the CS workforce. To address this bottleneck, this study examines gender issues in CS education. We assessed whether gender differences in CS students' stereotypes of CS and attitudes towards CS classes and the CS program remain stable from one semester to the next. We found that gender differences in CS students are not temporally stable and conclude that one-time assessments of gender differences may lead to erroneous conclusions. We also found that concerns about future work-family conflicts and gender issues in the CS program (e.g., female CS students feeling that they are not being taken as seriously as male CS students) emerged as important concerns for female CS students. The implications of these findings for increasing the representation of women in CS are discussed.
• Beyer, S., DeKeuster, M., Rynes, K., & DeHeer, J. (2004). The temporal stability of gender differences in MIS students. Proceedings of the tenth annual meeting of the Americas Conference on Information Systems, 1197-1204.
Few women major in Management Information Systems (MIS), which creates a serious bottleneck of women qualified to enter into the MIS workforce. To address this bottleneck, this study examines gender issues in MIS education. We assessed whether gender differences in MIS students' educational goals, stereotypes of MIS, and attitudes towards MIS classes and instructors remain stable over time. In addition, we analyzed the differential effects of individual MIS instructors on female and male students. Finally, we examined whether attitudes toward MIS instructors and classes predict grades in future MIS courses. We found that gender differences in MIS students are not temporally stable. Some attitudes towards MIS courses and instructors revealed greater problems or less satisfaction with instruction for female MIS students. Another interesting finding was that female MIS students underestimated their ability to a greater extent than did male students.
• Beyer, S. (2004). Review of "The Psychology of Women: A lifespan perspective (2nd ed.)". Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28, 436-437.
• Beyer, S., Rynes, K., & Haller, S. (2004). Deterrents to women taking Computer Science courses. IEEE Society and Technology, 23, 21-28.
We present results from a study that examines the barriers that discourage undergraduates, especially women, from taking courses in computer science (CS). Women are seriously under-represented at this early juncture of the CS pipeline. If we are serious about making CS a more inclusive field, this early juncture is critical. We hypothesized that barriers to women's choice to take CS courses include negative stereotypes about CS; a lack of information about what work in CS is like; the belief that careers in CS conflict with stereotypically female values and gender roles; and women's low confidence in their computing ability. Our hypotheses were confirmed. The findings are reported in detail below. We conclude by suggesting ways of increasing the representation of women in CS classes.
• Beyer, S., Rynes, K., Perrault, J., Hay, K., & Haller, S. (2003). Gender differences in Computer Science students. Proceedings of the Thirty-fourth SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 49-53.
We examined gender differences and differences in Computer Science (CS) majors vs. non-majors in ability in quantitative areas, educational goals and interests, experience with computers, stereotypes and knowledge about CS, confidence, personality, support and encouragement, stress and financial issues, gender discrimination, and attitudes toward the academic environment in CS. What is unique to this investigation is its multivariate nature. While others have studied these variables in isolation, our study looks at them collectively to identify important interactions among variables. This will eventually allow us to identify a profile of women who pursue careers in CS. The findings are reported in detail below. Particularly noteworthy is that men had more confidence in using computers than did women even when statistically controlling quantitative ability. In fact, female CS majors had less computer confidence than did male non-majors!
• Beyer, S. (2002). The effects of gender, dysphoria, and performance feedback on the accuracy of self-evaluations. Sex Roles, 47, 453-464.
Two experiments tested hypotheses derived from previous research by Beyer (1990, 1998, 1999a; Beyer & Bowden, 1997) and research on depressive realism. It was predicted that gender differences in the accuracy of self-evaluations of performance will be found on a mathematics test (masculine task), but not on an English test (feminine task) or on history and geography tests (neutral tasks). Furthermore, it was hypothesized that dysphorics are not more accurate self-evaluators than nondysphorics and that the effect of gender on the accuracy of self-evaluations is moderated by dysphoria. Finally, it was predicted that the provision of performance feedback does not moderate the effect of gender on the accuracy of self-evaluations. These hypotheses were supported. The implications of these findings are discussed.
• Beyer, S. (1999). Gender differences in the accuracy of grade expectancies and evaluations. Sex Roles, 41, 279-296.
Participants were 131 (69 female, 62 male) students in Introductory Psychology, Social Psychology, and Computer Science courses. 86% of the sample was Caucasian. The goals of this study were to assess (1) how accurate students' pre-examination expectancies and post-examination grade evaluations are and whether gender differences in the accuracy of expectancies and grade evaluations on examinations exist, (2) whether expected grades predict post-examination grade evaluations even with actual grades controlled (self-consistency effect), and (3) whether students' grade expectations and evaluations become more accurate with experience. Throughout the course of a semester students estimated their grades for each of their examinations. Students overestimated their grades at all points in the semester although females in Introductory Psychology overestimated their grades less than males did. Students' expected grades were a better predictor of their post-examination grade evaluations than was their actual grade. For Introductory Psychology students expectancies and grade evaluations became more accurate as the semester progressed. The importance of accurate self-perceptions regarding academic performance is discussed.
• Beyer, S. (1999). The accuracy of academic gender stereotypes. Sex Roles, 40, 787-813.
This research assessed the accuracy of academic gender stereotypes. Participants' estimates of the percentage of female and male students and their GPAs were compared to the actual percentage of female and male students and their actual GPAs in 12 majors. Participants significantly underestimated the percentage of female students regardless of the gender-type of the major. Females and males made more accurate percentage estimates for gender-congruent majors. Participants overestimated the GPAs of male students significantly more than the GPAs of female students. This was especially pronounced for masculine majors. Although female participants estimated the GPAs of their in-group more accurately than the GPAs of the out-group, the reverse was true for male participants. The implications of this evidence for inaccurate gender stereotypes regarding academic competence are discussed.
• Beyer, S. (1998/1999). Gender differences in causal attributions by college students of performance on course examinations. Current Psychology, 17, 346-358.
Gender differences in causal attributions and emotions for imagined success and failure on examinations were investigated. Males made stronger ability attributions for success than females, whereas females emphasized the importance of studying and paying attention. Males more than females attributed failure to a lack of studying and low interest, but females were more likely than males to blame an F on a lack of ability. Females experienced stronger emotions than did males. They felt happier than males did after success but felt more like a failure than did males after imagining receiving an F on an examination. Some of the gender differences in causal attributions, especially for ability attributions, depended on the gender-type of the subject matter of the examinations. The implications of these findings are discussed.
• Beyer, S. (1998). Gender differences in self-perception and negative recall biases. Sex Roles, 38, 103-133.
This study investigated gender differences in the accuracy of self-perceptions and whether self-perception biases are related to negative recall biases. Participants were 275 female and 213 male college students. Approximately 10% of the participants were minorities (mostly African American and Asian). On a masculine task, gender differences in self-perceptions were found for three measures of accuracy: The accuracy of self-evaluations, calibration, and response bias. Females underestimated their performance, were less well-calibrated, and showed a more conservative response bias than did males. As hypothesized, no gender differences in the accuracy of self-evaluations were found for feminine and neutral tasks. Participants' expectancies mediated the gender differences in post-task self-evaluations of performance. In addition, evidence for a negative recall bias was found. Females were more likely than males to recall their mistakes even with performance and accuracy of self-evaluations controlled. The implications of females' greater self-perception biases on masculine tasks are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.
• Beyer, S., & Bowden, E. M. (1997).em>Gender differences in self-perceptions: Convergent evidence from three measures of accuracy and bias. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 157-172.
This research assessed gender differences in the accuracy of self-perceptions. Do males and females with equal ability have similar self-perceptions of their ability? Three measures of accuracy were employed: Accuracy of self-evaluations, calibration f or individual questions, and response bias. As hypothesized, for a masculine task significant gender differences were found for all three measures: Females' self-evaluations of performance were inaccurately low, their confidence statements for individual questions were less well-calibrated than males', and their response bias was more conservative than males'. None of these gender differences were found for feminine and neutral tasks. As hypothesized, strong self-consistency tendencies were found. Expectancies emerged as an important predictor of self-evaluations of performance for both genders and could account for females' inaccurately low self-evaluations on the masculine task. How females' inaccurate self-perceptions might negatively affect achievement behavior and curtail their participation in masculine domains is discussed.
• Beyer S. (1995). Maternal employment and children's academic achievement: Parenting style as mediating variable. Developmental Review, 15, 212-253.
This paper provides a review and an integration of findings on the effects of parenting styles and maternal employment on children's academic achievement. A model is presented in which it is argued that maternal employment status has little, if any, direct effect on children's academic achievement. Instead, maternal employment is hypothesized to affect parenting styles which in turn affect children's academic achievement. Parenting style is thus seen as mediating the effect of maternal employment on children's academic achievement. The parenting-styles-as-mediator approach can account for some of the inconsistencies in the maternal employment literature. It is concluded that researchers interested in the effect of maternal employment should pay more attention to parenting styles and employ multivariate designs to assess moderating variables.
• Beyer, S. (1990). Gender differences in the accuracy of self-evaluations of performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 960-970.
Prior research has established that gender differences in self-perceptions exist but interpretational ambiguities make it impossible to determine whether these gender differences are due to the operation of biases. The present research attempted to establish whether gender differences in biases of performance evaluations exist by assessing the accuracy of post-task self-evaluations of performance. According to societal stereotypes men are viewed as more competent than women. Therefore, it was hypothesized that men hold liberal (self-serving) evaluation biases, whereas women hold conservative (self-derogatory) biases. In addition to demonstrating that such biases exist, it was tested whether self-evaluation biases are affected by the interaction between a situational variable such as the gender-typedness of a task and subject gender. It was hypothesized that men overestimate, whereas women underestimate performance on masculine gender-typed tasks. The results confirmed that subject gender and task gender-typedness interact; Men and women were accurate on feminine tasks but women underestimated their performance on masculine tasks. The results for men evaluating performance on masculine tasks were less consistent. In general, there was more evidence for the existence of a conservative bias in women than for a liberal bias in men. The findings were interpreted in terms of self-consistency theory. The implications of these findings for women's achievement behavior and self-confidence are discussed.