Ifsttar PhD subject

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Title : Gender and success in the practical test for the B driving licence. From the evaluation of driving licence inspectors to the perception of candidates' experiences of the test: representational and socio-cognitive issues?

Main host Laboratory - Referent Advisor AME - MODIS  -  GRANIE Marie-Axelle      tél. : +33 472142618

Director of the main host Laboratory GRANIE Marie-Axelle  -

PhD Speciality Psychologie sociale

Axis of the performance contract 1 - COP2017 - Efficient transport and safe travel

Main location Bron

Doctoral affiliation UNIVERSITE LUMIERE- LYON 2

PhD school SCIENCES DE L'EDUCATION, INFORMATION ET COMMUNICATION, PSYCHOLOGIE

Planned PhD supervisor GRANIE Marie-Axelle  -  Université Gustave Eiffel  -  AME - MODIS

Planned PhD co-supervisor MORIN-MESSABEL Christine  -  Université Lyon 2  -  GREPS

Planned financing Contrat doctoral  - Ifsttar

Abstract

Driving is considered a male domain, where men are perceived as competent and women incompetent (Degraeve et al., 2015). For years, women have failed the B license practical test more than men. This inequality of success constitutes an important societal and political issue since it hinders women's access to and insertion into the social and professional spheres, and more broadly limits their emancipation and autonomy. Our theoretical and empirical reflection was then driven by a question: why do women fail the driver’s license test more than men? The stigmatization they suffer in this field could explain this failure, given the deleterious effects on performance and evaluations, as highlighted in social psychology. We deployed a methodological triangulation strategy to explore the effect of three explanatory factors for this gender gap in achievement, in relation to gender stereotypes associated with driving: gender socialization (measured by semi-structured interviews with B license candidates), the phenomenon of stereotype threat (measured - along with other psychosocial variables at stake - by questionnaire with B license candidates after their actual test) and evaluative gender bias (measured by semi-structured interviews with evaluators of this test and by experiments varying the gender of the person performing the same performance, coupled with a qualitative capture of their recommendations, justifications and gendered representations of the gender gap in the success of the B license). These various angles of view and levels of analysis made it possible to draw the obvious impacts of gender stereotypes associated with driving, particularly those concerning women's incompetence, on their success, through the repercussions of the stereotype threat phenomenon (particularly the fear of confirming the stereotypes in the eyes of others for one's group), negative emotions and their auto-efficacy. Finally, this thesis concludes with an experiment with learner drivers aimed at exploring the effects of egalitarian - women are as successful as men - and counter-stereotypical - women are more successful than men - information on their performance, emotions and feelings of threat. This final study serves to engage perspectives to address this gendered inequality in achievement. The five studies in this psychosocial thesis showed that gender stereotypes associated with driving are still prevalent in social thinking and have deleterious effects on women's success on the day of this exam.

Keywords : driver's license test (B), stereotypes, gender, stereotype threat, socialization, assessment bias

Main host Laboratory - Referent Advisor	AME - MODIS - GRANIE Marie-Axelle tél. : +33 472142618
Director of the main host Laboratory	GRANIE Marie-Axelle -
PhD Speciality	Psychologie sociale
Axis of the performance contract	1 - COP2017 - Efficient transport and safe travel
Main location	Bron
Doctoral affiliation	UNIVERSITE LUMIERE- LYON 2
PhD school	SCIENCES DE L'EDUCATION, INFORMATION ET COMMUNICATION, PSYCHOLOGIE
Planned PhD supervisor	GRANIE Marie-Axelle - Université Gustave Eiffel - AME - MODIS
Planned PhD co-supervisor	MORIN-MESSABEL Christine - Université Lyon 2 - GREPS
Planned financing	Contrat doctoral - Ifsttar
Abstract Driving is considered a male domain, where men are perceived as competent and women incompetent (Degraeve et al., 2015). For years, women have failed the B license practical test more than men. This inequality of success constitutes an important societal and political issue since it hinders women's access to and insertion into the social and professional spheres, and more broadly limits their emancipation and autonomy. Our theoretical and empirical reflection was then driven by a question: why do women fail the driver’s license test more than men? The stigmatization they suffer in this field could explain this failure, given the deleterious effects on performance and evaluations, as highlighted in social psychology. We deployed a methodological triangulation strategy to explore the effect of three explanatory factors for this gender gap in achievement, in relation to gender stereotypes associated with driving: gender socialization (measured by semi-structured interviews with B license candidates), the phenomenon of stereotype threat (measured - along with other psychosocial variables at stake - by questionnaire with B license candidates after their actual test) and evaluative gender bias (measured by semi-structured interviews with evaluators of this test and by experiments varying the gender of the person performing the same performance, coupled with a qualitative capture of their recommendations, justifications and gendered representations of the gender gap in the success of the B license). These various angles of view and levels of analysis made it possible to draw the obvious impacts of gender stereotypes associated with driving, particularly those concerning women's incompetence, on their success, through the repercussions of the stereotype threat phenomenon (particularly the fear of confirming the stereotypes in the eyes of others for one's group), negative emotions and their auto-efficacy. Finally, this thesis concludes with an experiment with learner drivers aimed at exploring the effects of egalitarian - women are as successful as men - and counter-stereotypical - women are more successful than men - information on their performance, emotions and feelings of threat. This final study serves to engage perspectives to address this gendered inequality in achievement. The five studies in this psychosocial thesis showed that gender stereotypes associated with driving are still prevalent in social thinking and have deleterious effects on women's success on the day of this exam.
Keywords :	driver's license test (B), stereotypes, gender, stereotype threat, socialization, assessment bias

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