Sapna Cheryan
Biographic Data
| ID | 157993 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sapna Cheryan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sapna |
| FAMILY NAME | Cheryan |
| SIGNATURE | CHERYAN S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Washington |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0576-9199 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 39 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 868 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 39 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 12 |
Causes and consequences of stereotypes: Interest stereotypes reduce adolescent girls’ motivation to enroll in computer science classes
Motivating girls to enroll in computer science (CS) courses is critically important. Stereotypes that girls are less interested than boys in CS may deter girls. Three preregistered experimental studies (N = 1,053) examined causal links between gender-interest stereotypes and middle school students’ CS motivation. Experiment 1 showed that stereotypes reduced girls’ motivation to enroll, mediated by a lower sense of belonging. Experiment 2 showed t…
Did Descriptive and Prescriptive Norms About Gender Equality at Home Change During the Covid-19 Pandemic? A Cross-National Investigation
Using data from 15 countries, this article investigates whether descriptive and prescriptive gender norms concerning housework and child care (domestic work) changed after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of a total of 8,343 participants ( M = 19.95, SD = 1.68) from two comparable student samples suggest that descriptive norms about unpaid domestic work have been affected by the pandemic, with individuals seeing mothers’ relative to fa…
The gender gap in the care economy is larger in highly developed countries: Sociocultural explanations for paradoxical findings
Despite the growing demand for care economy employees (e.g., nurses, teachers, and social workers), men remain underrepresented in these careers. While economically developed countries support more equal rights for women and men, their labor markets are highly gender segregated (Charles, 1992, 2003). We conducted a focused investigation of this paradoxical pattern in the care economy, testing whether gender gaps in care economy career interest ar…
Feedback receptivity from people in power reduces gender, sexual orientation, and disability bias concerns
0.10). Study 1 finds that the extent to which engineering students and staff perceive their faculty advisors as receptive to feedback predicts women's lower concerns about facing gender bias and that this effect is weaker for men. Studies 2-4 show that reading about a person in power who is high in feedback receptivity (vs. no information about feedback receptivity) reduces women's gender bias concerns in male-dominated environments; lesbian, gay…
Longitudinal stability and change across a year in children’s gender stereotypes about four different STEM fields
Gender stereotypes about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are salient for children and adolescents and contribute to achievement-related disparities and inequalities in STEM participation. However, few studies have used a longitudinal design to examine changes in gender stereotypes across a range of STEM fields. In a large, preregistered study, we examined the developmental trajectories of two gender stereotypes (involving intere…
Gender equity and motivational readiness for computational thinking in early childhood
Learning coding during early childhood is an effective way for children to practice computational thinking. Aspects of children's motivation can increase the likelihood that children approach computational thinking activities with enthusiasm and deep engagement. Gender inequities may interfere with children's readiness to take advantage of opportunities to build computational thinking skills through activities such as coding. Societal stereotypes…
Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries
Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender‐based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental‐leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental‐leave policies and…
Does the follow-your-passions ideology cause greater academic and occupational gender disparities than other cultural ideologies
1934) demonstrate that the prevalent U.S. ideology to "follow your passions" perpetuates academic and occupational gender disparities compared to some other cultural ideologies. Study 1 shows that the follow-your-passions ideology is commonly used by U.S. students in making academic choices. Studies 2-5 find that making the follow-your-passions ideology salient causes greater academic and occupational gender disparities compared to the resources …
The Pandemic as a Portal: Reimagining Psychological Science as Truly Open and Inclusive
Psychological science is at an inflection point: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities that stem from our historically closed and exclusive culture. Meanwhile, reform efforts to change the future of our science are too narrow in focus to fully succeed. In this article, we call on psychological scientists—focusing specifically on those who use quantitative methods in the United States as one context for such conversations—to begin rei…
Gender stereotypes about interests start early and cause gender disparities in computer science and engineering
Significance Societal stereotypes that girls are less interested than boys in computer science and engineering are endorsed by children and adolescents in a large and socioeconomically diverse sample, across multiple racial/ethnic and gender intersections, and as early as age six (first grade). Gender-interest stereotypes may contribute to subsequent gender disparities in the pursuit of these societally important fields. Addressing interest stere…
Masculine defaults: Identifying and mitigating hidden cultural biases.
Understanding and remedying women's underrepresentation in majority-male fields and occupations require the recognition of a lesser-known form of cultural bias called masculine defaults. Masculine defaults exist when aspects of a culture value, reward, or regard as standard, normal, neutral, or necessary characteristics or behaviors associated with the male gender role. Although feminist theorists have previously described and analyzed masculine …
Gay Asian Americans Are Seen as More American Than Asian Americans Who Are Presumed Straight
Four studies investigate whether gay Asian Americans are stereotyped as more American than Asian Americans who are presumed straight. Gay Asian American men (Study 1) and women (Study 2) were rated as more American than their counterparts whose sexual orientation was unspecified. However, sexual orientation did not influence judgments of Whites’ American identity. The relationship between Asian Americans’ sexual orientation and perceptions of the…
The Symbolic Value of Ethnic Spaces
In four experiments, students read that their university was creating either an ethnic space (a space geared to people of particular ethnic groups) or a general space for students. In an internal meta-analysis, underrepresented students of color ( N = 205), but not White students ( N = 760), who read about the ethnic space reported greater belonging, value of underrepresented students by the university, support, and academic engagement compared t…
The long reach of prejudiced places? Stereotype expectations and motivation to pursue education among previously- and never-incarcerated black men
In America, Black men are often stereotyped as criminal. Previously-incarcerated Black men must contend with this negative group stereotype and with the knowledge that their incarceration status confirms this image to others. The present study is one of few to examine the psychological consequences of incarceration status among Black men. Drawing on our social-contextual theory of prejudice, we investigate the role of previous incarceration on Bl…
Double isolation: Identity expression threat predicts greater gender disparities in computer science
Three studies examine the relationship between women’s expression of interest in computer science and identity expression threat, the concern about conveying an identity inconsistent with one's gender role. Undergraduates perceive academic majors to signal who they are to peers (Study 1). Women imagining majoring in computer science report greater identity expression threat from their peers outside computer science than from those inside the fiel…
Programming experience promotes higher STEM motivation among first-grade girls
Two axes of subordination: A new model of racial position
Theories of race relations have been shaped by the concept of a racial hierarchy along which Whites are the most advantaged and African Americans the most disadvantaged. However, the recent precipitated growth of Latinos and Asian Americans in the United States underscores the need for a framework that integrates more groups. The current work proposes that racial and ethnic minority groups are disadvantaged along 2 distinct dimensions of perceive…
Social group membership increases STEM engagement among preschoolers
The American educational system currently yields disappointing levels of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement and achievement among students. One way to remedy this may be to increase children's motivation in STEM from an early age. This study examined whether a social cue-being part of an experimental "minimal group"-increases STEM engagement in preschoolers (N = 141; 4.5-year-olds). Using a within-subjects design, partic…
Why are some STEM fields more gender balanced than others
Women obtain more than half of U.S. undergraduate degrees in biology, chemistry, and mathematics, yet they earn less than 20% of computer science, engineering, and physics undergraduate degrees (National Science Foundation, 2014a). Gender differences in interest in computer science, engineering, and physics appear even before college. Why are women represented in some science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields more than other…
Computing whether she belongs: Stereotypes undermine girls’ interest and sense of belonging in computer science.
Computer science has one of the largest gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. An important reason for this disparity is that girls are less likely than boys to enroll in necessary “pipeline courses,” such as introductory computer science. Two experiments investigated whether high-school girls’ lower interest than boys in enrolling in computer science courses is influenced by stereotypes of the field. We further …
The pipeline project: Pre-publication independent replications of a single laboratory's research pipeline
This crowdsourced project introduces a collaborative approach to improving the reproducibility of scientific research, in which findings are replicated in qualified independent laboratories before (rather than after) they are published. Our goal is to establish a non-adversarial replication process with highly informative final results. To illustrate the Pre-Publication Independent Replication (PPIR) approach, 25 research groups conducted replica…
Understanding Perceptions of Racism in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: The Roles of System and Group Justification
Positive Stereotypes Are Pervasive and Powerful
Stereotypes and their associated category-based processes have traditionally been considered largely within the context of the negativity of their content and consequences, both among the general public and the scientific community. This review summarizes and integrates extant research on positive stereotypes, which are subjectively favorable beliefs about social groups, and examines their implications for individuals and groups directly targeted…
Cultural stereotypes as gatekeepers: Increasing girlsâ€TM interest in computer science and engineering by diversifying stereotypes
Despite having made significant inroads into many traditionally male-dominated fields (e.g., biology, chemistry), women continue to be underrepresented in computer science and engineering. We propose that students’ stereotypes about the culture of these fields—including the kind of people, the work involved, and the values of the field—steer girls away from choosing to enter these fields. Computer science and engineering are stereotyped in modern…
Manning Up: Threatened Men Compensate by Disavowing Feminine Preferences and Embracing Masculine Attributes
The current paper investigates two basic strategies that men use to recover from masculinity threats: (i) avoiding stereotypically feminine preferences and (ii) exaggerating their masculinity. In two experiments, males were either given false feedback that threatened their masculinity (i.e., underperforming on a masculinity test in Study 1, being physically weak in Study 2) or told they were average for their gender (control). Males who had their…
Ambient belonging: How stereotypical cues impact gender participation in computer science
People can make decisions to join a group based solely on exposure to that group's physical environment. Four studies demonstrate that the gender difference in interest in computer science is influenced by exposure to environments associated with computer scientists. In Study 1, simply changing the objects in a computer science classroom from those considered stereotypical of computer science (e.g., Star Trek poster, video games) to objects not c…
Two axes of subordination: A new model of racial position
Theories of race relations have been shaped by the concept of a racial hierarchy along which Whites are the most advantaged and African Americans the most disadvantaged. However, the recent precipitated growth of Latinos and Asian Americans in the United States underscores the need for a framework that integrates more groups. The current work proposes that racial and ethnic minority groups are disadvantaged along 2 distinct dimensions of perceive…
Why are some STEM fields more gender balanced than others
Women obtain more than half of U.S. undergraduate degrees in biology, chemistry, and mathematics, yet they earn less than 20% of computer science, engineering, and physics undergraduate degrees (National Science Foundation, 2014a). Gender differences in interest in computer science, engineering, and physics appear even before college. Why are women represented in some science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields more than other…
Where are you really from: Asian Americans and identity denial
Five studies investigate identity denial, the situation in which an individual is not recognized as a member of an important in-group. Asian Americans are seen as less American than other Americans (Study 1) and realize this is the case, although they do not report being any less American than White Americans (Studies 2A and 2B). Identity denial is a common occurrence in Asian Americans' daily lives (Study 3). They react to instances of identity …
Cultural stereotypes as gatekeepers: Increasing girlsâ€TM interest in computer science and engineering by diversifying stereotypes
Despite having made significant inroads into many traditionally male-dominated fields (e.g., biology, chemistry), women continue to be underrepresented in computer science and engineering. We propose that students’ stereotypes about the culture of these fields—including the kind of people, the work involved, and the values of the field—steer girls away from choosing to enter these fields. Computer science and engineering are stereotyped in modern…
The ironic consequences of Obama’s election: Decreased support for social justice
Explaining Underrepresentation: A Theory of Precluded Interest
What processes best explain women's underrepresentation in science, math, and engineering fields in the U.S.? Do they also explain men's underrepresentation in the humanities? Two survey studies across two U.S. West Coast universities (N = 62; N = 614) addressed these questions in the context of two fields: one male-dominated (computer science) and the other female-dominated (English). Among a set of social predictors-including perceived similari…
The Stereotypical Computer Scientist: Gendered Media Representations as a Barrier to Inclusion for Women
Enduring Influence of Stereotypical Computer Science Role Models on Women’s Academic Aspirations
The current work examines whether a brief exposure to a computer science role model who fits stereotypes of computer scientists has a lasting influence on women’s interest in the field. One-hundred undergraduate women who were not computer science majors met a female or male peer role model who embodied computer science stereotypes in appearance and stated interests or the same role model who did not embody these stereotypes. Participants and rol…
Understanding the Paradox in Math-Related Fields: Why Do Some Gender Gaps Remain While Others Do Not
When compliments fail to flatter: American individualism and responses to positive stereotypes
Five studies show that being the target of a positive stereotype is a negative interpersonal experience for those from individualistic cultures because positive stereotypes interfere with their desire to be seen as individuals separate from their groups. U.S.-born Asian Americans and women who heard a positive stereotype about their group in an intergroup interaction (e.g., "Asians are good at math," "women are nurturing") derogated their partner…
The pipeline project: Pre-publication independent replications of a single laboratory's research pipeline
This crowdsourced project introduces a collaborative approach to improving the reproducibility of scientific research, in which findings are replicated in qualified independent laboratories before (rather than after) they are published. Our goal is to establish a non-adversarial replication process with highly informative final results. To illustrate the Pre-Publication Independent Replication (PPIR) approach, 25 research groups conducted replica…
Manning Up: Threatened Men Compensate by Disavowing Feminine Preferences and Embracing Masculine Attributes
The current paper investigates two basic strategies that men use to recover from masculinity threats: (i) avoiding stereotypically feminine preferences and (ii) exaggerating their masculinity. In two experiments, males were either given false feedback that threatened their masculinity (i.e., underperforming on a masculinity test in Study 1, being physically weak in Study 2) or told they were average for their gender (control). Males who had their…
Generational differences in vulnerability to identity denial: The role of group identification
Identity denial, or having one’s group membership go unrecognized by others, is a form of discrimination and a common experience for ethnic minorities whose national identities are routinely questioned. Three studies found that being denied one’s national identity generated greater negative emotions for second+ generation (i.e., U.S.-born) compared to first generation (i.e., foreign-born) Asian Americans, and for those first generation Asian Amer…
Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries
Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender‐based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental‐leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental‐leave policies and…
Does the follow-your-passions ideology cause greater academic and occupational gender disparities than other cultural ideologies
1934) demonstrate that the prevalent U.S. ideology to "follow your passions" perpetuates academic and occupational gender disparities compared to some other cultural ideologies. Study 1 shows that the follow-your-passions ideology is commonly used by U.S. students in making academic choices. Studies 2-5 find that making the follow-your-passions ideology salient causes greater academic and occupational gender disparities compared to the resources …
Understanding Perceptions of Racism in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: The Roles of System and Group Justification
Feedback receptivity from people in power reduces gender, sexual orientation, and disability bias concerns
0.10). Study 1 finds that the extent to which engineering students and staff perceive their faculty advisors as receptive to feedback predicts women's lower concerns about facing gender bias and that this effect is weaker for men. Studies 2-4 show that reading about a person in power who is high in feedback receptivity (vs. no information about feedback receptivity) reduces women's gender bias concerns in male-dominated environments; lesbian, gay…
Social group membership increases STEM engagement among preschoolers
The American educational system currently yields disappointing levels of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement and achievement among students. One way to remedy this may be to increase children's motivation in STEM from an early age. This study examined whether a social cue-being part of an experimental "minimal group"-increases STEM engagement in preschoolers (N = 141; 4.5-year-olds). Using a within-subjects design, partic…
When Positive Stereotypes Threaten Intellectual Performance: The Psychological Hazards of “Model Minority” Status
Asian-American women's performance on a test of quantitative skill was studied as a function of whether their Asian, female, or individual identity was salient at the time of testing. In previous research, ethnicity salience was found to result in enhanced math performance among Asian women. However, the investigators relied on a subtle manipulation of ethnicity salience that likely did not invoke concerns about group reputation nor make salient …
"Where are you really from?": Asian Americans and identity denial: (633942013-184)
Where are you really from: Asian Americans and identity denial
Five studies investigate identity denial, the situation in which an individual is not recognized as a member of an important in-group. Asian Americans are seen as less American than other Americans (Study 1) and realize this is the case, although they do not report being any less American than White Americans (Studies 2A and 2B). Identity denial is a common occurrence in Asian Americans' daily lives (Study 3). They react to instances of identity …
Ambient belonging: How stereotypical cues impact gender participation in computer science
People can make decisions to join a group based solely on exposure to that group's physical environment. Four studies demonstrate that the gender difference in interest in computer science is influenced by exposure to environments associated with computer scientists. In Study 1, simply changing the objects in a computer science classroom from those considered stereotypical of computer science (e.g., Star Trek poster, video games) to objects not c…
The ironic consequences of Obama’s election: Decreased support for social justice
Explaining Underrepresentation: A Theory of Precluded Interest
What processes best explain women's underrepresentation in science, math, and engineering fields in the U.S.? Do they also explain men's underrepresentation in the humanities? Two survey studies across two U.S. West Coast universities (N = 62; N = 614) addressed these questions in the context of two fields: one male-dominated (computer science) and the other female-dominated (English). Among a set of social predictors-including perceived similari…
Fitting In but Getting Fat: Identity Threat and Dietary Choices Among U.S. Immigrant Groups
In two experiments, we tested the hypothesis that pressure felt by U.S. immigrant groups to prove they belong in America causes them to consume more prototypically American, and consequently less healthy, foods. Asian Americans were three times more likely to report a prototypically American food as their favorite after being asked whether they spoke English than when they had not been asked; in contrast, questioning the English abilities of Whit…
When Do Female Role Models Benefit Women? The Importance of Differentiating Recruitment From Retention in STEM
Increasing the participation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) involves two distinct challenges. One is increasing the retention of women who are already in STEM ...
Do Female and Male Role Models Who Embody STEM Stereotypes Hinder Women’s Anticipated Success in STEM
Women who have not yet entered science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields underestimate how well they will perform in those fields (e.g., Correll, 2001 ; Meece, Parsons, Kaczala, & Goff, 1982). It is commonly assumed that female role models improve women’s beliefs that they can be successful in STEM. The current work tests this assumption. Two experiments varied role model gender and whether role models embody computer scienc…
Understanding the Paradox in Math-Related Fields: Why Do Some Gender Gaps Remain While Others Do Not
Generational differences in vulnerability to identity denial: The role of group identification
Identity denial, or having one’s group membership go unrecognized by others, is a form of discrimination and a common experience for ethnic minorities whose national identities are routinely questioned. Three studies found that being denied one’s national identity generated greater negative emotions for second+ generation (i.e., U.S.-born) compared to first generation (i.e., foreign-born) Asian Americans, and for those first generation Asian Amer…
Enduring Influence of Stereotypical Computer Science Role Models on Women’s Academic Aspirations
The current work examines whether a brief exposure to a computer science role model who fits stereotypes of computer scientists has a lasting influence on women’s interest in the field. One-hundred undergraduate women who were not computer science majors met a female or male peer role model who embodied computer science stereotypes in appearance and stated interests or the same role model who did not embody these stereotypes. Participants and rol…
When compliments fail to flatter: American individualism and responses to positive stereotypes
Five studies show that being the target of a positive stereotype is a negative interpersonal experience for those from individualistic cultures because positive stereotypes interfere with their desire to be seen as individuals separate from their groups. U.S.-born Asian Americans and women who heard a positive stereotype about their group in an intergroup interaction (e.g., "Asians are good at math," "women are nurturing") derogated their partner…
The Stereotypical Computer Scientist: Gendered Media Representations as a Barrier to Inclusion for Women
Positive Stereotypes Are Pervasive and Powerful
Stereotypes and their associated category-based processes have traditionally been considered largely within the context of the negativity of their content and consequences, both among the general public and the scientific community. This review summarizes and integrates extant research on positive stereotypes, which are subjectively favorable beliefs about social groups, and examines their implications for individuals and groups directly targeted…
Cultural stereotypes as gatekeepers: Increasing girlsâ€TM interest in computer science and engineering by diversifying stereotypes
Despite having made significant inroads into many traditionally male-dominated fields (e.g., biology, chemistry), women continue to be underrepresented in computer science and engineering. We propose that students’ stereotypes about the culture of these fields—including the kind of people, the work involved, and the values of the field—steer girls away from choosing to enter these fields. Computer science and engineering are stereotyped in modern…
Manning Up: Threatened Men Compensate by Disavowing Feminine Preferences and Embracing Masculine Attributes
The current paper investigates two basic strategies that men use to recover from masculinity threats: (i) avoiding stereotypically feminine preferences and (ii) exaggerating their masculinity. In two experiments, males were either given false feedback that threatened their masculinity (i.e., underperforming on a masculinity test in Study 1, being physically weak in Study 2) or told they were average for their gender (control). Males who had their…
Computing whether she belongs: Stereotypes undermine girls’ interest and sense of belonging in computer science.
Computer science has one of the largest gender disparities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. An important reason for this disparity is that girls are less likely than boys to enroll in necessary “pipeline courses,” such as introductory computer science. Two experiments investigated whether high-school girls’ lower interest than boys in enrolling in computer science courses is influenced by stereotypes of the field. We further …
The pipeline project: Pre-publication independent replications of a single laboratory's research pipeline
This crowdsourced project introduces a collaborative approach to improving the reproducibility of scientific research, in which findings are replicated in qualified independent laboratories before (rather than after) they are published. Our goal is to establish a non-adversarial replication process with highly informative final results. To illustrate the Pre-Publication Independent Replication (PPIR) approach, 25 research groups conducted replica…
Understanding Perceptions of Racism in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: The Roles of System and Group Justification
Programming experience promotes higher STEM motivation among first-grade girls
Two axes of subordination: A new model of racial position
Theories of race relations have been shaped by the concept of a racial hierarchy along which Whites are the most advantaged and African Americans the most disadvantaged. However, the recent precipitated growth of Latinos and Asian Americans in the United States underscores the need for a framework that integrates more groups. The current work proposes that racial and ethnic minority groups are disadvantaged along 2 distinct dimensions of perceive…
Social group membership increases STEM engagement among preschoolers
The American educational system currently yields disappointing levels of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement and achievement among students. One way to remedy this may be to increase children's motivation in STEM from an early age. This study examined whether a social cue-being part of an experimental "minimal group"-increases STEM engagement in preschoolers (N = 141; 4.5-year-olds). Using a within-subjects design, partic…
Why are some STEM fields more gender balanced than others
Women obtain more than half of U.S. undergraduate degrees in biology, chemistry, and mathematics, yet they earn less than 20% of computer science, engineering, and physics undergraduate degrees (National Science Foundation, 2014a). Gender differences in interest in computer science, engineering, and physics appear even before college. Why are women represented in some science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields more than other…
The long reach of prejudiced places? Stereotype expectations and motivation to pursue education among previously- and never-incarcerated black men
In America, Black men are often stereotyped as criminal. Previously-incarcerated Black men must contend with this negative group stereotype and with the knowledge that their incarceration status confirms this image to others. The present study is one of few to examine the psychological consequences of incarceration status among Black men. Drawing on our social-contextual theory of prejudice, we investigate the role of previous incarceration on Bl…
Psychology (37 works) · Social Psychology (34 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (17 works) · Sociology (16 works) · Social Psychology (15 works) · Career Development and Diversity (12 works) · Gender and Technology in Education (12 works) · Developmental psychology (11 works) · Gender Studies (11 works) · Political science (9 works)