Gender and Social Facilitation Effects on Computer Competence and Attitudes toward Computers
Year: 1996
Type: article
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.
Authors: Rod Corston, Andrew M. Colman
Institution: University of Leicester
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2145291351