WOMENST 455 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Civil Engineering, Stereotype Threat, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
14 views6 pages
1 Sep 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Womens Study 455
What are Merton’s norms?
Principles that should guide good scientific research
1) Communalism: All scientists should have equal access to scientific goods (intellectual property)
and there should be a sense of common ownership in order to promote collective collaboration,
secrecy is the opposite of this norm.
2) Universalism: All scientists can contribute to science regardless of race, nationality, culture, or
gender
3) Disinterestedness: Scientists are supposed to act for the benefits of a common scientific
enterprise, rather than for personal gain
4) Originality: requires that scientific claims contribute something new, whether a new problem, a
new approach, new data, a new theory, or a new explanation
5) (Organized) Skepticism scientific claims must be exposed to critical scrutiny before being
accepted
Does exclusion of women result in bad science?
•Feminist critiques of science:
–Examine inequalities in who gets to do science
–Examine theories that support unequal treatment of the sexes
–How and what science investigates
What are scientific theories of sex differences?
•Females less intelligent and rational
•Too much schooling makes females infertile
•Excluding women justifiable at the time
•We know now those theories are wrong, so exclusion now would be wrong
How is exclusion of women harmful to science?
•Smaller pool of talent
•Affects questions asked
Did exclusion of women result in less accurate or objective scientific knowledge?
•NO:
–Proper use of scientific method = good knowledge
–Doesn’t matter who’s using it
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
•YES:
–Tribe of science produces good knowledge only if it is inclusive
What examples did we discuss in class/through your readings about women’s involvement and
participation, and why it may create better science? What is feminist biology? What role does UW-
Madison have in this? What are the arguments against/for feminist biology? What is the aim of
feminist biology? What are some of the issues/examples feminist biology is trying to correct?
*During elementary school, how do girls and boys compare in their interest to science?
As many girls as boys report positive attitudes to science
What is DAST, why is it used, and what have results of this shown?
Draw-A-Scientist-Test: it evaluates perception about scientists
In Elementary School 1981: 28/4800 drawings of women; no boys drew women scientists
1999: k-2:58% men Grades 3-5:73% Grades 6-8: 75%
What percentage of college students majoring in education portrayed scientists as male in DAST?
50%
How did they portray scientists?
Nearly 50% female scientists, almost all Caucasian, stereotypical elements: eyeglasses, lab coats, test
tubes
What is the problem about how they portrayed scientists?
They are only of one race and one gender, have to wear glasses
What are the typical characteristics associated with scientists?
Eyeglasses, lab coats, test tubes
What are the types of teacher feedback, and how do boys and girls differ in the feedback received in
elementary school?
Boys get remediation, girls get acceptance
Who gets more attention in elementary school? Why?
Boys tend to get more attention in K-12 classrooms because they “demand “it, raise hands faster and
higher, call out answers, “take over” equipment
Do classroom interventions that aim to increase girls’ interest in STEM have a negative effect on
boys?
Positive: boys get motivated too
Who takes more math and science credits in high school? Who does betters in these courses?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com