Computer scientists are inaccurately stereotyped as asocial loners 1. Those in computer science state that the field involves a lot of group work. Communal goals, those related to working with and helping others, and a higher priority for women than for Communal Goal Fulfillment through Group Work: A New Direction in Recruiting Women into Computer Science Amanda Kay Montoya, Allison Master, & Sapna Cheryan University of Washington, Seattle, WA Error bars are 95% Confidence Intervalst(294)= 26.19, p <.001 Conclusions Despite computer science having considerable group work it was perceived as having the least amount of group work of all the STEM fields. Classes with group work communicate more communal goal fulfillment. Increasing group work in computer science could attract women by appealing to their goals. Classes with group work are perceived as fulfilling more communal goals Hypotheses Students will perceive classes with group work to fulfill more communal goals than classes with individual work. Students will expect less group work in CS than other STEM fields. Methods Participants: Students (N = 296, 184 female) in an introductory psychology class took paper survey. Mean age (SD = 2.32). Students expect computer science to have least amount of group work Error bars are 95% Confidence Intervals F(3,290)= 39.90, p <.001 Future Directions Does adding group work to computer science classes increase women’s interest? Does having group work in classes change people’s perceptions of the field overall? Could there be unintended consequences of adding group work to computer science (e.g. threat)? Group Work Communal Goal Fulfillment Women’s Interest Proposed Model References 1 Margolis, J., & Fisher, A. (2000). The anatomy of interest: Women in undergraduate computer science. Women’s studies quarterly, 28(1/2), Bair, B., & Marcus, M. (2007). Women’s interest in information technology: The fun factor. Reconfiguring the Firewall: Recruiting women to information technology across cultures and continents (pp. 161 – 175). 3 Diekman, A. B., Clark, E. K., Johnston, A. M., Brown, E. R., & Steinberg, M. (2011). Malleability in communal goals and beliefs influences attraction to STEM careers: Evidence for a goal congruity perspective. JPSP 101(5), Campion, M. A., Medsker, G. J., & Higgs, A. C. (1993). Relations between work group characteristics and effectiveness. Personnel Psychology, 46(4), Stereotype men 3. Increasing the perception that computer science can fulfill communal goals, helps recruit women to computer science 3. Does the kind of work in a class communicate whether that class fulfills communal goals? Background Experience Students who endorse communal goals will also prefer group work. Students’ communal goal endorsement was positively correlated with preference for group work r(292) =.26, p <.001 Communal Goal Fulfillment α =.79 &.80 e.g. “Taking a class where we work in groups/individually would assist me in helping others” Other goals: serving the community, working with others, connecting to others, caring for others Expected Group Work e.g. “Taking a biology class would likely involve a lot of group work.” Other classes: engineering, psychology, computer science Preference for Group Work α =.86 I would prefer to work as part of a group rather than work alone. Working as a member of a group increases my ability to perform. I generally prefer to work as an individual. I would prefer a class with group work compared to one where we work individually. Communal Goal Endorsement α =.81 e.g. “Helping others is important to me personally” Other goals: working with others, connecting to others, caring for others, serving the community Questionnaire