Social influences on emotional responses to STEM: Encouraging women to approach STEM through social-environmental changes
A study conducted with Merav Friedmann, lecturer, Department of Business Administration, Ben- Gurion University of the Negev
The purpose of the research is to propose an effective strategy for encouraging women to approach the STEM sector (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
Women are underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), and their increased participation in these fields could benefit society and the economy. Explicit self- reports measure conscious attitudes, but these can be unreliable due to social desirability or positive self-perception. The impact of different types of female role models (parental, educational- expert, public) on implicit attitudes has rarely been examined, along with the responses of men, who still dominate in STEM.
Three studies aim to explore the impact of these role models on men’s and women’s implicit attitudes towards women in STEM using two sensors: Affectiva and EEG (implicit) and self-report (explicit). In each study, the influence of different social-environmental aspects on emotional responses to STEM will be examined.
This proposal aims to understand the impact of social-environmental influences on women’s approach to STEM, and to suggest how to make effective changes to the social environment and promote change.