Abstracts of Professional Presentations

•Beyer, S. (2007, August). Increasing the representation of women in Information Technology. Talk presented at the Women in Science, Math, Technology & Engineering Conference. Oshkosh, WI


•Beyer, S. (2007, May). The underrepresentation of women in Computer Science. Talk presented at the UWS Women & Science Program Spring Conference. Wisconsin Dells, WI. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 12, 337-365.


•Beyer, S. (2006, November). Why are there so few women in IT? Talk presented at the meeting of the National Center for Women in Information Technology. Atlanta, GA. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 12, 337-365.


•Beyer, S. (2006, February). Women in CS. Talk presented at the CRCA symposium. Kenosha, WI. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 12, 337-365.


• Beyer, S., DeKeuster, M., Christel, A., Doege, A., & Terry, L. (2005, May). Women majoring in Computer Science and Management Information Systems: Barriers to success. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Los Angeles, CA.

Why do so few women major in CS or MIS? Are the reasons for women's underrepresentation in these two disciplines the same? We will examine these issues by reporting on research on female and male undergraduates majoring in CS or MIS.

• Beyer, S. (2005, May). Female students in IT majors: Special challenges. Invited talk given at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

I discuss research on variables affecting the dearth of women in Information Technology (IT). These findings suggest avenues for increasing women's representation in IT. To increase recruitment and retention of women, role models and a gender-inclusive departmental atmosphere are important. IT departments also have to dispel negative stereotypes about their field.

• Beyer, S. (2005, July). A comparison of women undergraduates majoring in Computer Science and Management Information Systems. Talk given at the Crossing Cultures, Changing Lives International Research Conference, Oxford, England.

This research addresses potential reasons for the underrepresentation of women undergraduates in Computer Science (CS) and Management Information Systems (MIS). Variables that seem to negatively impact women in CS and MIS include less experience with computers, lower computer self-efficacy, role models, and subtle forms of gender discrimination in the classroom. This research also points out that results gathered in one area of Information Technology (IT), such as CS, do not necessarily generalize to other areas of IT, such as MIS.

• Beyer, S. (2005, February). Changes in CS students' attitudes towards CS over time: An examination of gender differences. Talk given at the annual meeting of SIGCSE, St. Louis, MS.

Few women major in Computer Science (CS), which creates a serious bottleneck of women qualified to enter into the CS workforce. To address this bottleneck, this study examines gender issues in CS education. We assessed whether gender differences in CS students' stereotypes of CS and attitudes towards CS classes and the CS program remain stable from one semester to the next. We found that gender differences in CS students are not temporally stable and conclude that one-time assessments of gender differences may lead to erroneous conclusions. We also found that concerns about future work-family conflicts and gender issues in the CS program (e.g., female CS students feeling that they are not being taken as seriously as male CS students) emerged as important concerns for female CS students. The implications of these findings for increasing the representation of women in CS are discussed.

• Beyer, S. (2004, September). The effect of classroom variables on women in CS. Talk given at the meeting of the Grace Hooper Celebration of Women in Computing, Chicago, IL.

I presented the findings of a longitudinal study investigating predictors of Computer Science (CS) grades. I focus on environmental and psychological variables that predicted female but NOT male CS students' grades in CS courses taken one to three semesters later. Prior exposure to computer scientists, the belief that women are as good at computers as men, and the belief that computer scientists work with people predicted higher CS grades for women, but not men. High levels of stress and the perception that there is gender discrimination in the CS program predicted lower grades in future CS courses for women but did not affect men.

• Beyer, S., DeKeuster, M., Rynes, K., & DeHeer, J. (2004, August). The temporal stability of gender differences in MIS students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the AMCIS conference, New York, NY.

Currently few women major in Management Information Systems (MIS). This study assesses the temporal stability of gender differences in MIS students' educational goals, stereotypes of MIS, and attitudes towards MIS instructors. In addition, we present an analysis of the differential effects of individual MIS instructors on men and women. We conclude that gender differences in MIS students do not remain stable over time as some gender differences vanish over time, whereas others actually increase. We also found that individual MIS instructors have different effects on female versus male students.

• Beyer, S., DeKeuster, M., Rynes, K., Kostman, A., & DeGregorio, N. (2004, June). Barriers to women's success in Management Information Systems courses. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Chicago, IL.

We examined gender differences in Management Information Systems (MIS) students. Female students perceived more gender discrimination in MIS, which negatively related to their grades, had lower computer confidence, and had more female high school computer teachers than did males. We discuss implications for recruitment and retention of women in MIS.

• Beyer, S., & Langenfeld, K. (2003). Gender differences in the recall of positive and negative performance feedback. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Atlanta, GA.

This study tested whether differential recall of positive and negative information is responsible for gender differences in reactions to performance feedback. Women showed a somewhat more other-enhancing pattern of recall of performance feedback than did men. However, unlike reported in previous research, women were not less self-enhancing than men.

• Beyer, S., & Rynes, K., & Lorang, S. (2003). Where are the computer scientists of the future? The role of gender. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Atlanta, GA.

Our longitudinal research assesses psychological and structural barriers to women's entry into Computer Science (CS). The stereotypes about CS majors' unsociability and their actual sense of isolation were incompatible with women's interpersonal orientation and career goals that emphasize working with people. This may deter women from pursuing CS degrees.

• Beyer, S., Rynes, K., & Taylor-Connelly, C. (2003). Gender differences in Information Technology students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, Atlanta, GA.

The shortage of IT professionals provides impetus for increasing women's representation in IT. We found that female IT students had less computer expertise than males which might adversely affect course performance. Women were also more family-oriented which may present life/work balance problems, resulting in increased attrition from IT.

• Beyer, S., Rynes, K., Perrault, J., Hay, K., & Haller, S. (2003). Gender differences in Computer Science students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of SIGCSE, Reno, NV.

We examined gender differences and differences in Computer Science (CS) majors vs. non-majors in ability in quantitative areas, educational goals and interests, experience with computers, stereotypes and knowledge about CS, confidence, personality, support and encouragement, stress and financial issues, gender discrimination, and attitudes toward the academic environment in CS. What is unique to this investigation is its multivariate nature. While others have studied these variables in isolation, our study looks at them collectively to identify important interactions among variables. This will eventually allow us to identify a profile of women who pursue careers in CS. The findings are reported in detail below. Particularly noteworthy is that men had more confidence in using computers than did women even when statistically controlling quantitative ability. In fact, female CS majors had less computer confidence than did male non-majors!

• Beyer, S., Rynes, K., Hay, K., Perrault, J., & Haller, S. (2002, October). Gender differences in first-year students and Computer Science students. Paper presented at NSF's IT Workforce Research Conference, Washington, DC.

The two major goals of this research are to discover the barriers that discourage undergraduate women from taking courses in Computer Science (CS) and to examine the causes of their low retention in CS. Two longitudinal studies address these goals. Study 1 examines factors that deter first-year students in college, particularly women, from taking CS courses. Study 2 investigates the causes of college women's attrition from CS. Information from both topics is necessary to design effective intervention programs aimed at increasing the representation of women in CS courses and their retention in the field.

• Beyer, S., Rynes, K., Chavez, M., Hay, K., & Perrault, J. (2002, June). Why are there so few women in Computer Science? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, New Orleans, LA.

We examined gender differences in stereotypes, experience and confidence in Computer Science (CS) in first-year students. Overall, participants possessed very stereotypical attitudes about CS majors. Men reported having more experience with computers and reported more computer confidence than did women. Men also enjoyed working with computers more than did women.

• Beyer, S., Riesselmann, M., & Warren, T. (2002, June). Gender differences in the accuracy of self-evaluations on Chemistry, English, and Art questions. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society. New Orleans, LA.

Gender differences in confidence in three academic areas of varying gender-type were assessed. We used questions about Chemistry (masculine), English (feminine), and Art (neutral). Females underestimated their performance more than did males on Chemistry and English questions.

• Beyer, S., Chavez, M., & Rynes, K. (2002, May). Gender differences in attitudes toward and confidence in Computer Science. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association. Chicago, IL.

We examined gender and student group differences in stereotypes and confidence in Computer Science (CS) in first-year and CS students. First-year students' attitudes towards CS were more stereotypical than CS students'. There was no gender difference in computer confidence for first-year students, but females in CS had significantly lower confidence than did males.

• Beyer, S. (2001, October). Predictors of women's interest and retention in undergraduate IT majors. Paper presented at NSF's IT Workforce Research Conference, Boulder, CO.

The two major goals of this research are to discover the barriers that discourage undergraduate women from taking courses in Information Technology (IT) and to examine the causes of their low retention in IT. Two studies are currently in progress to address these goals. Study 1 examines factors that deter college women from taking IT courses. Study 2 investigates causes of college women's attrition from IT. Information from both topics is necessary to design effective intervention programs aimed at increasing the representation of women in IT courses and their retention in the field.

• Beyer, S., & Langenfeld, K. (2000, April). Gender Differences in the Recall of Performance Feedback. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL. (ERIC Document No. CG030229)

This study tested whether differential attention to (as measured by recall) positive as compared to negative information is responsible for gender differences in reactions to performance feedback. Females recalled more positive feedback for others but more negative feedback for themselves than males did. This may have deleterious consequences for self-confidence.

• Beyer, S., Klamm, T., & Vollmer, K. (1998, April). Gender Differences in the Accuracy of Grade Expectations and Self-evaluations. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association. Chicago, IL.

The goals of this study were to assess (1) how accurate students' expectancies and post-examination self-evaluations are and whether gender differences in the accuracy of expectancies and self-evaluations of performance on examinations exist, (2) whether expected grades predict post-examination self-evaluations of performance even with actual grades controlled (self-consistency effect), (3) whether students' grade expectations and evaluations become more realistic with experience, (4) whether temporal proximity to an examination increases the accuracy of expected grades, and (5) the role of individual difference variables in the accuracy of self-perceptions. Throughout the course of a semester students in Introductory Psychology, Social Psychology, and Computer Science courses estimated their grades for each of their examinations. They predicted their grades one week prior to and immediately prior to each examination. Immediately after an examination they indicated how well they thought they had done and predicted their grade on the next examination. Upon receipt of their grade for an examination, they again predicted their grades for the next examination. Students' overestimated their grades at all points in the semester although females in Introductory Psychology overestimated their grades less than males did. Expected grades were a better predictor of students' post-examination self-evaluations of grades than their actual grade was. Expectancies and self-evaluations became more accurate with experience for Introductory Psychology students. Temporal proximity to an examination increased the accuracy of expected grades only slightly.

• Beyer, S. (1997, August). Changes in the Accuracy of Grade Expectations in the Course of a Semester. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. Chicago, IL.

The goals of this study were to assess 1. how accurately participants' expectancies and post-exam self-evaluations are and whether gender differences in the accuracy of expectancies and self-evaluations of performance on exams exist, 2. whether expectancies of performance predict post-exam self-evaluations of performance even with actual performance controlled (self-consistency effect), 3. whether students' grade expectations and evaluations become more realistic with experience, and 4. whether temporal proximity to an exam increases the accuracy of expectancies. Throughout the course of a semester students in Introductory Psychology, Social Psychology, and Computer Science courses estimated their performance for each of their exams. They predicted their performance one week prior to each exam and immediately prior to taking the exam. They also indicated how well they thought they had done immediately after taking the exam. Upon receipt of their grade for an exam, they predicted their performance for the next exam. It was found that students overestimated their performance at all points in the semester. Females overestimated their performance less than males did but this effect reached significance only in Introductory Psychology, the class with students who had the least college experience. Expectancies were a better predictor of participants' post-exam self-evaluations of performance than their actual performance was. Temporal proximity to an exam increased the accuracy of expectancies only slightly. Expectancies and self-evaluations became more accurate with experience for Introductory Psychology students. However, Social Psychology students' expectancies and self-evaluations became less accurate with successive exams. Experience did not affect the expectancies and self-evaluations of Computer Science students.

• Beyer, S., & Finnegan, A. (1997, August). The Accuracy of Gender Stereotypes Regarding Occupations. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. Chicago, IL.

This study investigated the accuracy of gender stereotypes regarding occupations. Participants' estimates of the percentage of female and male workers and their salaries for 40 occupations were compared to Census Bureau data to assess the accuracy of the estimates. The data indicate that participants were unaware of the extent of occupational segregation by gender and underestimated the size of the wage gap. The implications of this are discussed.

• Beyer, S. (1997, May). Gender Differences in Causal Attributions. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society. Washington, D.C.

Gender differences in causal attributions and emotions to success and failure were investigated. Males took more credit for success but less responsibility for failure, and felt more confident than did females. Following failure, females felt more like a failure than did males. Some of the gender differences in causal attributions, especially for successful outcomes, depended on the gender-type of the subject matter.

• Beyer, S., & Gross, N. (1996, June). Inaccurate Gender Stereotypes Regarding GPAs and Representation of Female Students by Major. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Society. San Francisco.

This research assessed the gender stereotypes of college students regarding the average GPAs and percentage of female and male students in 12 different college majors. Participants' perceptions were compared to the actual GPAs and the actual percentage of female and male students in these majors. Thus, the extent to which participants' perceptions were stereotypic and inaccurate could be assessed. Participants underestimated the percentage of females in 9 majors. In addition, participants overestimated the GPAs of male students more than the GPAs of female students. This was especially pronounced for masculine majors. The implications of this evidence for stereotyping are discussed.

• Beyer, S., & Davanis, M. (1995, June). Effects of Performance Feedback, Gender, and Depression on Self-perceptions. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Society. New York.

This research assessed whether gender differences in self-evaluation biases exist. Three different measures of accuracy/bias were employed: Accuracy of post-test self-evaluations, degree of calibration for individual questions, and response bias. As hypothesized, for the masculine gender-typed test significant gender differences for all three kinds of bias were found: Women's post-test self-evaluations were inaccurately low, their confidence statements for individual questions on a test were less well-calibrated than men's, and their response bias was more conservative than men's. None of these gender differences were found for feminine and neutral tests. As hypothesized, strong self-consistency tendencies were found. Expectancies emerged as an important predictor of post-test self-evaluations for both genders and could account for women's inaccurately low self-evaluations. How these biases might negatively affect women's self-confidence and mental health and curtail women's participation in masculine gender-typed domains is discussed.

• Beyer, S. (1994, June). Effects of Gender and Depression on Self-evaluations of Performance on Academic Tasks. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Society. Washington, D.C.

Prior research has established that gender differences in self-perceptions exist. For example, women's post-task self-evaluations of performance are lower than men's, especially on masculine gender-typed tasks (Beyer, 1990, 1991). It was hypothesized that self-consistency tendencies can partially explain gender differences in self-evaluations. According to self-consistency theory, subjects' expectancies should affect their post-task self-evaluations. The results confirmed this hypothesis. It was also assessed whether biased recall of one's performance on individual questions can partially explain gender differences in the accuracy of self-evaluations. It was found that indeed males were relatively more likely than females to recall those questions which they wrongly believed they had answered correctly.

• Beyer, S. (1992, August). Self-consistency and Gender Differences in the Accuracy of Self-evaluations. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association. Washington, D.C.

Prior research has established that gender differences in self-perceptions exist. For example, women's post-task self-evaluations of performance are lower than men's, especially on masculine gender-typed tasks (Beyer, 1990, 1991). It was hypothesized that self-consistency tendencies can partially explain gender differences in self-evaluations. According to self-consistency theory, subjects' expectancies should affect their post-task self-evaluations. The results confirmed this hypothesis. It was also assessed whether biased recall of one's performance on individual questions can partially explain gender differences in the accuracy of self-evaluations. It was found that indeed males were relatively more likely than females to recall those questions which they wrongly believed they had answered correctly.

• Beyer, S. (1990, April). Gender Differences in Self-evaluation Biases: How Can Women's Inaccuracy be Reduced? Paper presented at the annual convention of the Western Psychological Association. Los Angeles, CA.

Research has shown that gender differences in the accuracy of self-evaluations of performance exist, especially on masculine gender-typed tasks. On such tasks men accurately evaluate performance whereas women underestimate performance (Beyer, 1990). The present research attempted to establish whether gender differences in biased performance evaluations can be reduced. Subjects were presented with masculine and feminine gender-typed tasks and had to evaluate their performance in one of two conditions. In the non-calibrated condition, subjects evaluated their performance after finishing a task. In the calibrated condition, subjects had to state for each of 40 questions how confident then evaluated they were of having answered the question correctly and their performance. Compared to the non-calibrated condition the attenuated in the calibrated gender difference in the accuracy of self-evaluations was condition, where both genders were highly accurate. The processes of self-evaluation biases but also have results not only provide insight into the underlying practical implications concerning self-perceptions of performance on masculine tasks.possible ways to improve women's inaccurately low.

• Beyer, S. (1989, April). Sex Differences in the Accuracy of Expectancies and Self-evaluations of Performance. Paper presented at the joint annual convention of the Western Psychological Association and Rocky Mountain Psychological Association. Reno, NV.

Prior research has established that gender differences in self-perceptions exist but interpretational ambiguities make it impossible to determine whether these gender differences are due to the operation of biases. The present research attempted to establish whether gender differences in biases of performance evaluations exist by assessing the accuracy of post-task self-evaluations of performance. According to societal stereotypes men are viewed as more competent than women. Therefore, it was hypothesized that men hold liberal (self-serving) evaluation biases, whereas women hold conservative (self-derogatory) biases. In addition to demonstrating that such biases exist, it was tested whether self-evaluation biases are affected by the interaction between a situational variable such as the gender-typedness of a task and subject gender. It was hypothesized that men overestimate, whereas women underestimate performance on masculine gender-typed tasks. The results confirmed that subject gender and task gender-typedness interact; Men and women were accurate on feminine tasks but women underestimated their performance on masculine tasks. The results for men evaluating performance on masculine tasks were less consistent. In general, there was more evidence for the existence of a conservative bias in women than for a liberal bias in men. The findings were interpreted in terms of self-consistency theory. The implications of these findings for women's achievement behavior and self-confidence are discussed.