Men and Things, Women and People: A Meta-Analysis of Sex Differences in Interests

Autor/inn/en	Su, Rong; Rounds, James; Armstrong, Patrick Ian
Titel	Men and Things, Women and People: A Meta-Analysis of Sex Differences in Interests
Quelle	In: Psychological Bulletin, 135 (2009) 6, S.859-884 (26 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0033-2909
DOI	10.1037/a0017364
Schlagwörter	Females; Reputation; Vocational Interests; Interest Inventories; Scoring; Effect Size; Engineering; Gender Differences; Meta Analysis; Sciences; Technology; Measures (Individuals); Role + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Weibliches Geschlecht; Berufsinteresse; Interest profile; Interessenprofil; Bewertung; Maschinenbau; Geschlechterkonflikt; Meta-analysis; Metaanalyse; Science; Wissenschaft; Technologie; Messdaten; Rollen
Abstract	The magnitude and variability of sex differences in vocational interests were examined in the present meta-analysis for Holland's (1959, 1997) categories (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional), Prediger's (1982) Things-People and Data-Ideas dimensions, and the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) interest areas. Technical manuals for 47 interest inventories were used, yielding 503,188 respondents. Results showed that men prefer working with things and women prefer working with people, producing a large effect size (d = 0.93) on the Things-People dimension. Men showed stronger Realistic (d = 0.84) and Investigative (d = 0.26) interests, and women showed stronger Artistic (d = -0.35), Social (d = -0.68), and Conventional (d = -0.33) interests. Sex differences favoring men were also found for more specific measures of engineering (d = 1.11), science (d = 0.36), and mathematics (d = 0.34) interests. Average effect sizes varied across interest inventories, ranging from 0.08 to 0.79. The quality of interest inventories, based on professional reputation, was not differentially related to the magnitude of sex differences. Moderators of the effect sizes included interest inventory item development strategy, scoring method, theoretical framework, and sample variables of age and cohort. Application of some item development strategies can substantially reduce sex differences. The present study suggests that interests may play a critical role in gendered occupational choices and gender disparity in the STEM fields. (Contains 3 figures, 1 footnote and 6 tables.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10