@EdWorkingPaper{ai26-1393,
title = "Making the Implicit Explicit: An Experiment with Implicit Gender Stereotypes and College Major Choice",
author = "Stephanie Owen, Derek Rury",
institution = "Annenberg Institute at Brown University",
number = "1393",
year = "2026",
month = "January",
URL = "http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1393",
abstract = {We study whether making college students aware of their implicit gender–STEM stereotypes affects their pursuit of a STEM degree. In a field experiment at a large, selective U.S. university, over 800 undergraduates completed a gender–STEM Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a detailed survey on major preferences and beliefs. Students were randomly assigned to receive feedback about their IAT results or not. Linking survey and IAT data to administrative records on course enrollment and declared major, we find that learning about one’s implicit stereotypes increased STEM course-taking and major choice among men, but decreased STEM outcomes among women. The decline for women is concentrated among underrepresented minority, lower-income, and lower-ability students, consistent with stereotype threat mechanisms. The findings highlight that interventions designed to “de-bias” individuals through information can have unintended and asymmetric effects across groups, sometimes reinforcing the very disparities they aim to reduce.},
}