Romantic goals and attitudes towards math

I can't even begin to explain how many things are wrong with this video clip. While the entire clip show blatant examples of the math stereotype, smaller clips (specifically 0:53-1:19 and 2:07-2:45) focus on how romantic goal pursuit can affect females willingness to do well in math. Current research has shown that women's everyday romantic goal pursuit can have a negative affect on their attitude towards math and other STEM domains (Park, Young, Troisi, & Pinkus, 2011).

In their research, Park et al. (2011) held three different studies to test their hypotheses that women who viewed images or overheard conversations related to romantic goals would report less positive attitudes towards math. In study 1, participants first reported their interest in pursuing a degree or career in STEM fields. Then, half of the participants viewed images related to romantic desirability while the other half viewed images related to intelligence. Finally, all participants completed a filler questionnaire and again reported their interest in STEM. Study 2a was similar to study , as the only difference was the use of a different method to activate romantic goals. Participants either overheard the experimenter and research assistant having a conversation about a recent date the experimenter had (romantic goal prime), or a recent test they had taken (intelligence goal prime). Study 2b simply replaces the intelligence goal prime with a friendship goal prime, changing the overheard conversation be about a visit from a same-sex friend. Lastly, study 3 used only female participants and used PDA's to monitor their daily goal striving, feelings of desirability, and activities they engaged in (all among other filler items) (Park et al. 2011).

The results of each study supported the researchers' hypotheses. Study 1 found that females who viewed the images related to romantic desirability showed a significantly lower in interest in STEM than females that viewed the intelligence images. Furthermore, participants in both study 2a and 2b that heard the romantic goal prime also felt significantly less positive towards STEM than did participants who heard the friendship or intelligence goal primes. Finally, study 3 showed that daily romantic pursuit predicted engaging in fewer math activities, more romantic activities, and greater feelings of desirability. Daily intelligence goal pursuit, however, predicted engaging in more math activities, but was not related to romantic activities or feelings of desirability (Park et al. 2011).

Since STEM domains are stereotypically male domains, participating in them are likely to make females feel less feminine, thus leading to the negative attitude towards the subjects. Females, according to study 3, are also likely to engage in fewer math activities. Although it may not directly affect math scores, it is likely to help keep the stereotype going.

Park, L. O., Young, A. F., Troisi, J. D., & Pinkus, R. T. (2011). Effects of everday romantic goal pursuit on women's attitudes toward math and science.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(9), 1259-1273.

Stereotype Threat & Test Scores

Now that we know children as young as 7-8 years old are aware of the math-gender stereotype, I want to look at how this knowledge affects the children when they are older. As we discussed in class, girls get better grades in math classes, but boys outperform them on standardized tests. The proceeding research provides evidence to support that the stereotype threat plays a role in women's test performance.


Cadinu (2005) split participants, who were all female, into two groups. Those in the control group were told that "there are no differences between men and women in logical-mathematical tasks," and those in the experimental group were told that "recent research has shown that there are clear differences in the scores obtained by men and women in logical-mathematical task." Participants then took a difficult math test (similar to math questions on the GRE). After every problem, there was an empty page so that the participant could write down any thoughts they had, whether it be that their mother's birthday is this week, or that they hated math. Responses were then coded into one of seven categories: negative math-related thoughts, hate for math, generic distress, self-confidence, neutral reference to the test, not knowing what to write, guess, and other.

Results showed that participants in the experimental group had a significantly lower number of correct responses than the control group. Further, when looking at the first half of the test, we see no difference in number of incorrect answers, however when we look at the second half, we see a very significant deficit from the experimental group. The control group showed an increase in correct answers towards the end of the test, while the experimental group showed a decrease. Finally, Cadinu (2005) found a significantly higher number of negative math-related thoughts in the experimental group. This study was the first to demonstrate a link between negative thinking and performance deficits. (Cadinu, 2005).

Overall, this study is very useful in that it shows us why being aware of the math stereotype effects females test score. Without as much pressure to do well in normal classroom activities, females are likely not as aware of the stereotypes, or at least aren't actively thinking about them, which allows them to perform better. On standardized tests, however, the pressure is on, which seems to make it more likely that the stereotype will make it's way into the participants mind. In conclusion, this study tells us that if a female is actively aware of the stereotype threat while taking the test, it is likely her performance will be worse than if she was not aware of the stereotype at the time.


Cadinu, M. (2005). Why Do Women Underperform Under Stereotype Threat?. Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell), 16(7), 572-578. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Stereotype Threats

While looking for research to see if there was any evidence of biological differences that cause performance differences in math, I found that many researchers find it hard to distinguish whether differences are biological or culturally based. Since young children are easily influenced by social stereotypes, the line between what is innate and what is social influence in blurred. As the above clip shows, children are bombarded by society with toys and biased information to fit into their growing boy/girl schemas. The proceeding research shows evidence of the 'boys are better at math' stereotype emerging in children in only second grade.

Cvencek, Meltzoff, and Greenwald (2011) looked at 247 American children between the age of 6 and 10 to study their associations between the following: 'me' with male (gender identity), male with math (math-gender stereotype), and 'me' with math (math self-concept). Overall, they were able to uncover two new findings: 1. The same math-stereotype that was previously shown to exist in American adults is also existent in elementary school children, and 2. Elementary school girls showed a weaker identification with math than boys did.

So, how did they come to these conclusion? First, in terms of the 'me' with male association, Cvencek, Meltzoff, and Greenwald (2011) found that elementary school children had developed gender identity, and thus knew that there were two gender categories, one of which they identify themselves in. Next, they look at the male with math association, or math-gender stereotype. This is where things get slightly wordy. Simply put, children were placed at a computer and asked to sort different items into different categories. The setup of the computer and program allowed for researchers to use response time to determine if children held the gender-math stereotype. Finally, the 'me' with math association was studied when interviewers asked children questions such as which character they were most like, the boy David, or the girl Emily. Questions eventually led up to children expressing how much they were like the girl that liked to read versus the girl who liked math (or boy for male children).

This research is important because it shows us that children are affected by stereotypes at a very early age. Young girls can very easily make connections such as 'I am a girl. Girls aren't good at math. I can't/am not good at math.'  This conclusion is likely to stick with them as they age, thus putting them at risk for falling victim to the stereotype threat. I plan to do further research to see how this stereotype fares with older children...to see if this underlying stereotype threat truly affects their math performance skills in the future.

Reference:

Cvencek, D., Meltzoff, A. N., & Greenwald, A. G. (2011). Math-gender stereotypes in elementary school children. Child Development, 82(3), 766-779.