Effects of Gender Role Identity and Experience on Computer Attitude Components

The effects of prior experience and gender stereotyping upon the computer anxiety, confidence and liking of 144 male and female students who had just commenced their studies at university were examined. Males were found to have lower computer anxiety, higher confidence and greater liking than females. When the effects of prior experience and gender stereotyping were removed however, no significant sex difference on these measures remained. The pattern of associations between experience, gender stereotyping variables and computer attitude measures differed for males and females. Greater experience at home was associated with lower anxiety for both sexes, with higher confidence for males and with greater liking for females. The influence of other family members also differed for the two sexes. The attitudes of both males and females were more positive if they had a brother who used computers, but the influence of father's use was positive for males only, while the influence of mother's use was positive for females only. For females but not males, higher scores on the Masculinity scale of the Bern Sex Role Inventory were associated with more positive computer attitudes. The results demonstrate the importance of experience, particularly in a home context, and of gender stereotyping in determining how males and females perceive computers.

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