Women and men perceive men as more intelligent, even when it isn't true:
In a Newsweek interview, University College London psychologist Adrian Furnham reveals the differences in intelligence between men and women. The key finding: Although men are overrepresented on both the very high and very low ends of the spectrum, in general there are no differences in intelligence between the sexes. The really key finding: Men think they're smarter and... women concur. As Furnham explains:
"[O]n average, women underestimate their IQ scores by about five points while men overestimate their own IQs. . . . Men with average to below-average intelligence think that they are quite clever. And very smart women think their intelligence is low. . . . Both sexes believe that their fathers are smarter than their mothers and grandfathers are more intelligent than their grandmothers. . . . If there are children, [both] men and women think their sons are brighter than their daughters."
That sounds so sad. When I taught math at a community college in Orlando, one of my students was a 50-year-old woman who was going to college for the first time in her life. When she was growing up, she had always been told "girls are no good at math" and bought into it. She was delighted to learn she was good at it and went on to make an A in my class. It was delightful to see her discover and gain confidence in her talents and abilities. It's sad to know she went so long not knowing what she was capable of.
On the other hand, maybe women downplay their intelligence because it helps in their relationships with men:
“I told your mother this, and now I’m going to tell you: never let a man think you’re smarter than he is. Men don’t like that.” Everyone laughed and thought this was so anachronistic, but it shows up in our data. Grandma’s views on dating aren’t so dated after all!
If enough women follow grandma's advice, it helps explain how these views get perpetuated.
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