Factors Associated with the Underrepresentation of African Americans in Mathematics and Science

In an attempt to understand college students' impressions of scientists, Beardslee and O'Dowd (1961) surveyed the attitudes of students from four northeastern colleges. The results of this investigation uncovered a pervasive stereotype of scientists. College students depicted the scientist as a very radical, individualistic, strange, and intelligent individual who is socially withdrawn and indifferent to others. The scientist was also pictured as being unpopular, unhappy, and having an unattractive wife. Though the students accorded respect to the scientist for his contributions, he was considered, nonetheless, hard to understand, indifferent to art, and difficult to like. With this type of image of scientists prevailing on college campuses, it is little wonder that large numbers of students shun majors in science. After all, being a scientist characterizes one as peculiar, unsocialized, and qualifying for an ugly spouse. These views of the scientist appear humorous and unrealistic; however, there is considerable evidence that today's college students, particularly African Americans and Hispanics, avoid majoring in science and mathematics because cultural traits support unfavorable images of scientists and make the attainment of a scientific career unrealistic. Also, many minority students have internalized a self-perception of incompetence in mathematics and science. To eliminate the psychological distress associated with this perception they incorporate an ego-protective ideology that views mathematicians and scientists as peculiar and socially irrelevant. Many reasons have been cited for the relatively small number of African American mathematicians and scientists, but there has been no attempt to provide an integrated schema or model of African American vocational choice. There has been scant research in this area and much that has been written is not based on empirical research. It is clear that the selection of college majors and professional careers is differentially