The interference of stereotype threat with women's generation of mathematical problem-solving strategies

At the highest levels of math achievement, gender differences in favor of m en persist on standardized math tests. We hypothesize that stereotype threa t depresses women's math performance through interfering with their ability to formulate problem-solving strategies. In Study I, women underperformed in comparison to men on a word problem rest, however women and men performe d equally when the word problems were converted into their numerical equiva lents. In Study 2, men and women worked on difficult problems, either in a high- or reduced-stereotype-threat condition. Problem-solving strategies we re coded. When stereotype threat was high, women were less able to formulat e problem-solving strategies than when stereotype threat was reduced. The e ffect of stereotype threat on cognitive resources and the implications for gender differences in mathematical testing are discussed.