Sum-thing’s wrong: Why ‘self-deluding men’ insist they are better at maths

From Pythagoras to Isaac Newton to Alan Turing - famous mathematicians down the ages have invariably been men. Yet traditional male dominance when it comes to sums does not really add up, say researchers. The idea that men are naturally better than women at maths is a myth born of self-delusion, they argue. Researcher Dr Shane Bench said: “Gender gaps in the science, technology, engineering and maths fields are not necessarily the result of women’s underestimating their abilities, but rather may be due to men’s overestimating their abilities.”

Positive illusions about math abilities may be beneficial to women pursuing math courses and careers.

US psychologist Dr Shane Bench

Psychologist Dr Shane Bench, from Washington State University, conducted two studies of 300 undergraduates who were asked to have their maths skill tested before guessing how well they had fared. Across both studies, men were consistently found to overestimate the number of problems they solved correctly while women’s appraisal of their own abilities was more accurate. After receiving feedback about how well they did in the first study, men were then better at estimating their scores in the second test. The research also showed that men were more likely to pursue maths course and careers than women.

Positive illusions could function to protect women’s self-esteem despite lower-than-desired performance, leading women to continue to pursue courses in science, technology, engineering and maths fields and ultimately improve their skills.

Dr Bench

Science