What determines the academic choices for undergraduate students in a collectivistic society? brain-type (systemizing and empathizing) or the gender stereotypes?

Author

Sara SalmanFollow

Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Fall 2022

Date of Submission

2022-08-18

Advisor

Dr. Ayesha Zia, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

Brain-type, Gender stereotypes, Academic choices, Collectivistic society

Abstract

This research was conducted to test the generalizability of the brain-type assessments of SQ-R and EQ in a collectivistic society for predicting undergraduate academic choices, whereby, it was hypothesized that gender stereotypes are more influential in shaping the students’ academic choices in Pakistan. Independent samples t-test were used to test the hypothesis of phase 1 and thematic analysis was used to assess the data from interviews in phase 2. In phase 1, surveys were conducted using tests of SQ-R (systemizing) and EQ (empathizing) to identify the difference in cognitive styles of undergraduate males and females and students in humanities and sciences. Phase two consisted of in-depth semi-structured interviews to find factors rooted in gender stereotypes that may predict the academic choices of Pakistani students, thereby, it was hypothesized that the tests of EQ and SQ-R would not be generalizable to the context of a collectivistic society. Chi-square testing was used to assess the significance of brain-type scores on students’ academic choices and the results were proven insignificant. Thereby, the results of the interview explained that the underlying reasons that are shaping the Pakistani students’ academic choices are ‘Parental Pressure or Influence’ and ‘Societal Pressure or Influence’. It was found that gender stereotypes are more significant for predicting academic choices. The results of this research are critical for future research on students’ academic choices and to improve the sector of education counseling of Pakistan.

Pages

1, 52

Recommended Citation

Salman, S. (2022). What determines the academic choices for undergraduate students in a collectivistic society? brain-type (systemizing and empathizing) or the gender stereotypes? (Unpublished undergraduate project). Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/sslace/141