Women’s rejection of computing, far from being an irrational
‘computerphobia’, is a rational ‘computer reticence’. (Sherry
Turkle, 1988) Turkle’s quote above underlines her assumptions
that masculinization of computers occurs, not at the social
level advocated in previous chapters, but at the cognitive
level. The conclusions drawn from the last chapter imply that
increased SE may affect the use of analytical strategies.
Strategy selection has been argued to be a major determinant of
successful human computer interaction (HCI). Unsuccessful HCI
has obvious implications for both technophobia and the
expectations of success discussed in the previous chapter.
Cognitive style, then, is the focus of this chapter. In her book
The Second Self (1984), Sherry Turkle argues that sex
differences in technophobia are due to sex differences in
strategy selection, with males inherently preferring more
analytical strategies. As males tend to program computers, male
analytic strategies are inherent within computing. Consequent