GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDES AND ATTITUDE CHANGES AMONG MATHEMATICALLY TALENTED YOUTH

A survey form that assesses components of attitude thought to be relev ant to success in a program for mathematically talented youth was admi nistered to program participants on four occasions over a 2-year perio d. The reliabilities of the attitude scales and the pattern of correla tions among the scales were quite similar for boys and girls who appli ed for the program. Among those who were selected for the program, boy s showed a significantly higher level of motivation, confidence, and i nterest in mathematics than did girls. Over the first 2 years in the p rogram, both boys and girls exhibited significant declines in attitude s on most scales.