Gender and Social Facilitation Effects on Computer Competence and Attitudes toward Computers

Abstract

Subjects (36 male, 36 female), aged from fifteen to fifty-two years, performed a computer-based tracking task under one of six audience conditions in an experiment designed to investigate the effects of gender and social facilitation on performance. In addition to the computer task, each subject completed a fifteen-item questionnaire designed to identify levels of computer usage, computer-related anxiety, confidence and competence when using computers, and attitudes toward computers and computer users. Males performed significantly better than females, and a significant social facilitation effect was found. A significant Gender × Audience interaction was found, with females performing very much better in the presence of a female audience than alone or with a male audience. The implications for educational policy and practice are briefly discussed.

Self-Esteem and Achievement Motivation as Predictors of Perceived Sense of Competence among Workers in a Nigerian University Teaching Hospital

“…Unlike the majority of earlier work (e.g., Campbell & Williams, 1990;Corston & Colman, 1996;Rozell & Gardner, 2000) that explores gender differences in perceived sense of competence, the current finding did not show significant gender differences in perceived sense of competence. This finding is constituent with those of Snyder and Bruning (1979) which reported contrary to the speculations of many previous writers, occupancy of a supervisory position, not sex, was demonstrated to be a predictor of an individual's work-related sense of competence.…”

“…In contrast, years of working experience did not contribute significantly to perceived Indexed African Journals Online: www.ajol.info sense of competence. This finding is congruent with the work of Campbell and Williams (1990), Corston and Colman (1996), Rozell and Gardner (2000) who reported the influence of cognitive, social, motivational and affective factors on perceived competence, including age, working experience, gender, confidence and attitudes. In addition, perceived competence is influenced by the factors to which people attribute their success and failures, how they evaluate themselves and how they believe others view them and by individuals past experiences in a particular domain (Bong & Skaalvik, 2003).…”

“…Several studies reported the influence of cognitive, social, motivational and affective factors on perceived competence, including age, working experience, gender, confidence, and attitudes (Campbell & Williams, 1990;Corston & Colman, 1996;Rozell & Gardner, 2000). In addition, perceived competence is also influenced by the factors to which people attribute their success and failures to, how they evaluate themselves, how they believe others view them, and by individuals past experiences in a particular domain (Bong & Skaalvik, 2003).…”

Rethinking Gender Politics in Laboratories and Neuroscience Research: The Case of Spatial Abilities in Math Performance

“…Implicit power gender relations have been demonstrated to have a high significance even in psychological test situations as illustrated by Inzlicht and Ben-Zeev (2000) in whose experiment arithmetical abilities in women reduced with a higher male audience. A similar pattern was also observed in computer tests (Corston and Colman 1996;Murphy et al 2007). Additionally, economic studies argue that competitiveness plays a significant role in determining inclusion in highranking positions (Van Vugt et al 2007): Gneezy et al (2003) present experimental results that demonstrate a relationship between power and the enactment of gender.…”

Videos in learning in higher education: assessing perceptions and attitudes of students at the University of Ghana

“…As a result, students who are introverts can participate in the teaching and learning process without competing for attention, and students who are extroverts will not have to wait until being recognized to participate in the teaching process or discussions (Strauss 1996;Yellen et al 1995). Also, the use of video as opposed to the traditional classroom experience reduces the student's social presence; and this reduces the nervousness, apprehension or fear associated with self-presentation (Corston and Colman 1996;Strauss 1996). More broadly, these features of video enhance participation more equally across participants (Strauss 1996;Dede 1990).…”