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December 30th, 2009Uncategorized
No seriously. That’s what a study by Sapna Cheryan of the University of Washington found. The more stereotypical nerd and sci-fi images there are about, the more off putting an environment is for women.
According to Science Daily, Cheryan took 250 students who weren’t studying computer science and took them into a small classroom and told them to ignore the objects they saw as another class was sharing the room with them. Said objects included Star Trek posters, video game boxes and coke cans on one hand (what? no empty pizza boxes?), and nature posters, art and coffee cups on the other.
The students were then asked about their attitude towards computer science classes. The women exposed to the nerd room expressed less interest in computer science than those who weren’t.
Another study involved students being asked about two web design companies and receiving hypothetical, identical, job offers from each. The key factor on whether women accepted each offer? The objects on display in each company’s workplace, with women more likely to accept an offer with the “non stereotypical” company.
What does it show us?
First of all, something we all knew, that the environment – the place where you spend most of your waking hours – has a deciding influence on the decisions we make. It’s something a lot of companies tend to forget though.
Secondly, related to that, according to Cheryan, “objects…communicate whether or not a person belongs in an environment.” So in our mind trekkies = (mainly) male nerds = off putting for those not in the know.
Finally, that the media plays a role in perpetuating stereotypes: “It would be nice for computer scientists in moves and television to be typical people, not only computer geeks.”
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Tags: Computer science, Sapna Cheryan, Science Daily, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Television, University of Washington, Video game
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November 22nd, 2009Uncategorized
If you see one person scapegoating someone else – even without reason – the chances are you will do so too.The research, by USC Marshall School of Business and Stanford University, show that the work blamestorm after something goes wrong is something that quickly catches on. On a more sinister note I think, it demonstrates how marginalisation and finger pointing at certain groups (for example immigrants) spreads and finds a willing audience.
According to Science Daily, two academics conducted four different experiements, “and found that publicly blaming others dramatically increases the likelihood that the practice will become viral.”
In one example, participants read about California Governor Schwarzenegger blaming special interest groups for the failure of a special election that cost $250. The ones who did so were more likely to blame others for their own unrelated short-comings. In other words an aura of negativity spreads, even if it’s about something completely different.
The reason? “It triggers the perception that one’s self-image is under assault and must be protected.” So, “not me, guv!”
Looking at the workplace, one of the academics Nathaneal J Fast, says that a blame culture creates a ‘culture of fear‘ and advises companies to embrace failures and mistakes as something to move on from, like Intuit, which has a ‘When learning hurts’ session.
Also touch-feely ‘self affirmation’ seems to help. In one of the experiments, people who affirmed their ‘self-worth’, were less likely to point fingers.
That makes a lot of sense really. Foster a positive environment in your organisation and it will spread, or there’s a constant tendency to shift responsibility, that will take hold too and have unintended, wider consequences when it comes to productivity, the day to day atmosphere and so on.
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Tags: blamestorm, California, Education, Interest group, Intuit, research, Science Daily, Stanford University, United States
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