Expectations Affect Women's Math Scores

The women in the lower-scoring groups read essays that either contended that there is a genetic difference between men and women in math ability, or discussed the images of women in art — a reading which did not discuss math but was designed to remind them of being female.

Those two groups not only fell short of the other women, but their performance declined between the two math tests, meaning they scored lower after reading the essays than before.

It's a process psychologists call a stereotype threat, Heine explained. "If a member of a group for which there is a negative stereotype is in a position to test the stereotype, they are likely to choke under the pressure."

So reminding them of the stereotype affects them.

On the other hand, reading essays that contend there is no natural difference between men and women in math skills lets them go ahead and answer the questions without any added pressure.

And that was also the case with those reading essays arguing that any differences aren't their fault, but exist because of conditions such as teachers giving boys preferential treatment in the early years of learning math.

That, explained Heine, "may allow a woman to say, 'This stereotype doesn't apply to me.'"