Luoyi Zheng , Xingkai Chen , Shantong Hu , Yuhong Zhu *
Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang , China
*Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 2026-5-10 / Accepted: 2026-6-30 / Published: 2026-7-15
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37906/real.2026.3
Abstract This study examined gender differences in scientific reasoning ability among Chinese junior secondary school students and investigated the mediating mechanisms underlying these differences. A total of 453 students from four public schools in Hangzhou, China, completed the Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (LCTSR) and self-reported their subject preference (language vs. mathematics) and thinking style orientations (memory-oriented thinking vs. logic-oriented thinking). The results revealed a significant overall gender difference in scientific reasoning ability, with higher performance observed among male students, particularly in conservation, proportional, and hypothetical-deductive reasoning, although the effect sizes were small. However, when controlling for the proposed mediators, the direct effect of gender on scientific reasoning ability was no longer significant. Mediation analyses further indicated that gender influenced scientific reasoning indirectly through mathematics preference and logic-oriented thinking, which jointly accounted for a substantial proportion (approximately 92%) of the total effect. Further analyses at the sub-dimension level showed that these mediating effects were particularly pronounced in higher-order reasoning components, such as proportional and hypothetical-deductive reasoning, indicating dimension-specific mediation patterns. These findings suggest that observed gender disparities in scientific reasoning ability may be partially shaped by socialization processes associated with stereotyped academic preferences rather than reflecting innate cognitive differences.
Research Areas: Diversity & inclusion, Research methodology, Scientific reasoning & problem solving
Keywords: gender differences, Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (LCTSR), mediation analysis, scientific reasoning ability
