Conducting “Draw-A-Scientist” studies since the 1960s, researchers from Northwestern University revealed that children in the U.S. are now drawing female scientists more than ever before.

Considered a reflection of changing attitudes about women in science, where men are more often linked to that field, researchers believe that the change is due to an increase in the number of women becoming scientists and the depiction of more female scientists on TV, in magazines and in other media.

"Given this change in stereotypes, girls in recent years might now develop interests in science more freely than before," said study lead author David Miller, a psychology Ph.D. candidate at Northwestern. "Prior studies have suggested that these gender-science stereotypes could shape girls' interests in science-related activities and careers."

Reviewing the “Draw-A-Scientist” literature, researchers discovered that between 1966 and 1977, under one percent of almost 5,000 children drew an image resembling a woman when tasked with drawing a picture of a scientist.

However, later studies (between 1985 and 2016) demonstrated that on average 28 percent of children drew a female scientist when issued the same task.

"Our results suggest that children's stereotypes change as women's and men's roles change in society," said study co-author Alice Eagly, professor of psychology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern and a faculty fellow with the University's Institute for Policy Research. "Children still draw more male than female scientists in recent studies, but that is expected because women remain a minority in several science fields."

The study is published in the journal Child Development.