Gender and Social Facilitation Effects on Computer Competence and Attitudes toward Computers

Abstract

Subjects (36 male, 36 female), aged from fifteen to fifty-two years, performed a computer-based tracking task under one of six audience conditions in an experiment designed to investigate the effects of gender and social facilitation on performance. In addition to the computer task, each subject completed a fifteen-item questionnaire designed to identify levels of computer usage, computer-related anxiety, confidence and competence when using computers, and attitudes toward computers and computer users. Males performed significantly better than females, and a significant social facilitation effect was found. A significant Gender × Audience interaction was found, with females performing very much better in the presence of a female audience than alone or with a male audience. The implications for educational policy and practice are briefly discussed.