Gender differences in self-efficacy partially explain the female underprediction effect

Abstract

Women tend to perform better in college than their admission test scores predict. The observed differential prediction of men's and women's academic performance based on academic tests is known as the female underprediction effect. Prior research demonstrates that gender differences in trait-level conscientiousness explain some of the observed female underprediction effect. The current study examined the effects of the facets of conscientiousness (i.e., self-efficacy, orderliness, dutifulness, achievement-striving, self-discipline, and cautiousness) in mediation analyses which were expected to partially explain the relationship between gender and academic performance after controlling for test scores. The results show that the relationship between gender and GPA is mediated by trait-level conscientiousness and, more specifically, that the effect is mediated by the facet of self-efficacy.