Gender, Math and Science: Perspectives from Cognitive Development May 12, 2010

Why are there more men than women in the fields of science, technology, and mathematics? Here I consider three reasons why men might predominate in these fields: because they have higher aptitude for science and mathematics on average or at the highest levels; because they have greater motivation for hard and extended work in these fields; or because biased patterns of evaluation tend to enhance the progress of male scientists, relative to females. Drawing on research in human cognitive development, I suggest that the third factor is the most important one, and also that it is likely to change.

Elizabeth Spelke is the Marshall L. Berkman Professor of Psychology and the co-Director of the Laboratory for Developmental Studies, both at Harvard. Elizabeth Spelke studies the cognitive capacities of human infants, in relation to those of non-human primates, human children, and adults from different cultures. Her current research focuses on the origins and development of knowledge of objects and their motions, of other people and their social interactions, and of two domains at the foundations of formal mathematics: number and geometry.

Conference information provided by konferenciakalauz.hu

Official Website: http://www.ceu.hu/events/2010-05-13/elizabeth-spelke-gender-math-and-science-perspectives-from-cognitive-development