Changing middle-school students’ attitudes and performance regarding engineering with computer-based social models E. Ashby Plant, Amy L. Baylor * , Celeste E. Doerr, Rinat B. Rosenberg-Kima Department of Psychology, Florida State University, P.O. Box 3064301, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4301, United States article info Article history: Received 3 October 2008 Received in revised form 12 January 2009 Accepted 16 January 2009 Keywords: Social model Interface agents Self-efficacy Mathematics Engineering Persuasive technology abstract Women’s under-representation in fields such as engineering may result in part from female students’ negative beliefs regarding these fields and their low self-efficacy for these fields. In this experiment, we investigated the use of animated interface agents as social models for changing male and female mid- dle-school students’ attitudes toward engineering-related fields, their self-efficacy for these fields, and their math performance. Students interacted with either a female or a male computer-based agent or they did not interact with an agent. The female agent increased interest, utility beliefs, self-efficacy, and math performance compared to control and, for boys, decreased stereotyping. Mediational analyses indicated that the female agent facilitated interest and math performance by enhancing self-efficacy. The findings indicate that interface agents may be used effectively as social models for influencing attitudes and beliefs and supporting performance. Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Women have achieved increasing inclusion and success in professions that were formerly occupied primarily by men. Fields such as law and medicine, which were historically heavily male dominated, have achieved sex equity over the past 30 years (Goodman et al., 2002). However, women remain under-represented in the field of engineering. For example, only 8.5% of all professional engineers are women, although women constitute close to half of the total workforce (Goodman et al. 2002). A 2003 National Science Foundation (NSF) report indicated that women account for only 20% of the undergraduate enrollment in engineering programs even though they are more likely to attend college than men (also see National Science Board, 2006). This absence of women in engineering is also evident in doctoral pro- grams where men are four times more likely than women to earn a doctoral degree in engineering (National Science Board, 2006). Thus, it is important to uncover ways to encourage greater participation by women in engineering-related fields. The current work explores whether using computer-based, anthropomorphic interface agents can increase young women’s interest and performance in engineering-related fields through social modeling. Previous work indicates that interface agents can positively influence college-age women’s beliefs about and interest in engineering (Baylor & Plant, 2005; Rosenberg-Kima, Baylor, Plant, & Doerr, 2008). This work expands upon this previous work in several ways. First, we explore whether using interface agents as social models is effective for a younger audience of middle-school or junior high students. Catching young women at an early age is critical because decisions made early, such as which classes to take in high school and college, can have substantial implications for the ability and likelihood of women pursuing engineering in the future. Second, this work examines whether interface agents positively impact young women’s performance in engi- neering-related fields and, specifically, mathematics. Although the previous work indicates that agents can positively influence attitudes, there is little evidence that they can positively impact performance. In addition, we examine whether any impact of the agents on the stu- dents’ interest and performance that we find is due to the positive implications of the intervention on self-efficacy and stereotypes about women and engineering. Finally, we investigate how the interface agents and their message influence young men’s interest and perfor- mance in engineering-related fields. Ideally, any approach that positively influences female students would also encourage male students (or at minimum not discourage them). 0360-1315/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.01.013 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 7032361898. E-mail addresses: plant@psy.fsu.edu (E. Ashby Plant), amy.baylor@gmail.com (A.L. Baylor). Computers & Education 53 (2009) 209–215 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers & Education journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compedu