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Boys-Brilliant Hypothesis

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In educational psychology, the boys-brilliant hypothesis has been tested in many studies. In the study “Gender Stereotypes about intellectual Ability Emerge Early and Influence Children’s Interests,” conducted by Lin Bian, Sarah-Jane Leslie, and Andrei Cimpian, it was determined that the boys-brilliant hypothesis was supported. The study was composed of research methods of structured interviews, structured questionnaires, structured tests and games, and structured observation. The general research design of the study was a correlation design and the developmental research design was a cross-sectional design. The researchers behind the study examined whether the perceptions about male and female intelligence shaped children’s interests and beliefs. …show more content…

While in the study, the researchers provide many different variations of how kids believe boys are smarter than girls, the media article discusses the gender stereotypes that children receive in everyday life, and brought up alternatives to why the boys-brilliant theory might be accurate. Whether it be the media, from books or movies, or even the interactions they have with peers, family, and friends, all contribute to the boys- brilliant theory. By discussing the already implemented gender stereotypes in society, the media author questions if the study exemplifies the reasons this might be. One way the author does this is by bringing up other studies. For example, one study showed the interactions between parents and their children in a museum. When it came to explaining exhibits to their sons, parents talked about why and how they worked and gave more scientific explanations to why something was the way it was. For the daughters, they gave short, simpler explanations, such as how to work and enjoy the exhibit rather than the facts behind it. This study proved that society engrains the idea in children that boys are more capable and intelligent than girls. Early interactions between parents and children are essential for development and play a crucial role in social and mental maturity. By neglecting to …show more content…

The author overgeneralizes and attempts to incorporate too much information in one article. By incorporating many studies into one article, the author minimizes the impact of the main study as an individual research case. Although the author writes about the major findings and main points of the study, it fails to provide specific examples and detailed information. The author neglects to explain the process of the study and how it was conducted. If I was the author I would have communicated the findings in a similar manner, but would providing statistics and quantitative evidence about the boys-brilliance theory. I would have also looked more into other findings by the researchers and provided solutions to ways we can close the gap and erase gender stereotypes. These particular articles about this study made me realize the importance of background information, and the benefits of reading the original study. In the future, I will approach reading media and news articles in a different manner. I am now more aware of what makes an effective news source and which articles provide sufficient amount of evidence. Through this assignment, I have learned new techniques to approach articles, and will now consider how the study backs up the argument, as well as other researcher’s

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