Gender differences in scientific knowledge and attitudes toward science: Reply to Hayes and Tariq

Abstract

In a recent article in this journal Hayes and Tariq (hereafter H&T) contend that their analysis of the 1993 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) on environmental issues casts doubt on the “populist” idea that gender differences in favorable attitudes toward science can be accounted for by the different levels of scientific knowledge between men and women. While acknowledging the importance of their work in delineating the social and economic determinants of gender differences in attitudes toward science, we take issue with the interpretation they draw from their data. We argue firstly that their analysis errs in failing to recognize the importance of the order in which variables are entered into regression models and, as a consequence, draws theoretical inferences that are unwarranted by the evidence they present. Secondly, we argue that, rather than demonstrating that scientific knowledge is unimportant in explaining gender differences in attitudes toward science, their models in fact support the robustness of the positive relationship between knowledge and attitude even when controlling for a range of important mediating variables.