How Wanting Love Makes Girls Bad At Math

　　Despite the best efforts of today’s educators, women are still woefully underrepresented in the math, technology and science fields (and while we’re at it, women are underrepresented at the highest levels in business and government, too). A recent review argues that the problem is no longer simply a lack of opportunity or encouragement - in a nutshell, girls just seem to prefer other subjects. The question is, why?

　　It’s true that women are still, to some extent, stereotyped as being less capable in these fields, and certainly this (baseless and false) belief plays a role. But new research suggests that girls may prefer to study language, arts, and humanities over math and science for another reason: they believe, often on an unconscious level, that demonstrating ability in these stereotypically-male areas makes them less attractive to men。

　　Most of us, especially in adolescence, want very much to be romantically desirable. Girls in particular are socialized to see this as an important goal, and both sexes attempt to achieve the goal by conforming to cultural norms of what women and men are “supposed” to be like. Women are expected to be communal and nurturing, and to pursue careers that allow them to express those qualities – like teaching, counseling, and of course, nursing. Men, on the other hand, are supposed to be dominant, independent, and analytical – qualities well-suited to business, finance, and science。

　　Unfortunately, it’s not enough to know that women and men can be equally competent in any field. Stereotypes exert much of their influence on an unconscious level, as these new studies illustrate. When pursuing romantic goals, we automatically (below awareness) inhibit conflicting goals that might interfere. For women, that appears to mean choosing love over math。

　　In one study, male and female undergraduates saw images related to either romance (romantic restaurants, beach sunsets, lit candles) or intelligence (eyeglasses, libraries, books)， in order to get the students thinking about their romantic or achievement-related goals. Later, they rated their interest in math, technology, science and engineering. The researchers found that among men, interest in these subjects was not influenced by the images they had seen. But among women, those who viewed romantic images expressed far less interest in math and science. (Interestingly, women who viewed intelligence images expressed the same level of interest as the men!)

　　A second study activated goals a different way (i.e., by having participants “accidentally” overhear conversations between other undergrads, about either about a recent date or a recent test)， and observed the same results. When women had romance on their minds, they liked math a lot less。

　　In a third study, female undergrads filled out a daily diary over three weeks, reporting on the goals they pursued each day and the activities they engaged in. The researchers found that on days when women pursued romantic goals – like being romantically desirable, focusing on a current relationship, or trying to start a new relationship - they engaged in significantly fewer math-related activities, like attending class, studying, or doing homework. (On days when they pursued academic goals, the opposite was true。) So women don’t just like math less when they are focused on love – they also do less math, which over time undermines their mathematical ability and confidence, inadvertently reinforcing the stereotype that caused all the trouble in the first place。

　　Of course, this research has interesting implications for men as well. In pursuit of romantic love, men may feel discouraged from pursuits that are stereotypically “female” – those that involve being nurturing and communal. In other words, love doesn’t just make girls bad at math – it may also make boys act like selfish jerks, all in the service of conforming to a (largely unconscious) romantic ideal。

　　It’s a little troubling to think about how our past choices may have been influenced in unexpected ways by our desire to loved. (As a former chemistry major who ultimately turned to psychology, this research has certainly given me a lot to chew on。) But more importantly, I think, it gives us insight as parents and teachers into the kinds of messages our children need to hear. It’s not just that men and women can succeed in jobs that aren’t “traditionally” associated with their sex – kids today already know that. What they need to understand is that breaking out of a stereotype won’t keep them from finding the loving relationship they also desire. Only then will they feel free to go wherever their interests and aptitudes may take them。

　　尽管现代教育家付出了巨大努力，但在数学，技术和科学领域上，女性的地位仍未得到认可(女性在商业领域和政府高层的境遇也是如此)。最近一项研究认为，这种现象不能简单地归因于女性缺乏机会和鼓励——简而言之，女生看起来更擅长其他科目。这是为什么？

　　的确，在某种程度上，大家认为女性并不擅长数学这类领域，这种偏激和错误的观念已经根深蒂固。但一项最新调查显示，相对于数学和科学，女生更喜欢学习语言、艺术和人文学科的另一个原因是：在潜意识里，她们认为在这些传统男性领域中展现自己的能力会减少她们对男生的吸引力。

　　我们多数人都渴望得到异性的青睐，尤其在青春期的时候。女生特别在意这个，将其视作一个重要目标。男女双方都希望自己的言行符合文化规范中男女应有的形象。女性更看重集体性和教育性，所以追求那种可以让她们展示这种优势的职业——像教学，顾问和护理。男性则认为具有统治性，独立性和分析性——更适合在商业，金融和科学领域打拼。

　　遗憾的是，想知道男女是否有均等的能力胜任各个领域的工作，仅靠这些还不够。传统观念在潜意识里起到很大影响。当追求爱情时，我们自动屏蔽妨碍实现这个目标的行为，对女性而言，这就意味着爱情重于数学。 第一个实验：将学生分成两组，每组男女人数对等。一组看与爱情有关的照片(浪漫晚餐，海滩落日，烛光摇曳)，另一组看与智慧有关的照片(眼镜，图书馆，书籍)，用来让学生思考他们爱情或事业追求的目标。随后，他们评价自己对数学，技术和科学的兴趣。研究人员发现在男生中，喜欢这类科目的人不受照片内容的影响，而女生中，那些看过爱情类照片的人则对数学等科目兴趣不大(有趣的是，女生中那些看过智慧类图片的人也表现出和男生同样的兴趣)。

　　第二个实验：换了一种方式(即让学生不经意间听到他人的谈话，或是最近的数据，或是最近的测试)，得出了类似的结论：当女性脑中充满对爱情的渴望时，她们对数学的兴趣就会大幅减少。

　　第三个实验中，女生要求连续3个周写日记，记录她们每天追求的目标和参与的活动。研究发现，在女生有爱情目标的时候——例如有小男生传纸条，陷入热恋，或想要开始一段新恋情——她们就很少参加与数学有关的活动了，像上课、钻研题目或完成作业。(某天她们想要学术了，情况就反过来了)所以女生在恋爱期间不仅冷淡数学，她们也几乎不做数学练习，这无形中减弱了她们的数学能力和对数学的自信，而这不经意间加深了那些关于性别的偏激错误观点。

　　当然，这项研究对男性也有着同样有趣的暗示。在追寻爱情的路上，男性在追求传统女性时会有挫败感，像护理和公共事业。换句话说，爱情不仅会使女生在数学前踟蹰不前，也会使男生的行为像个自私的傻子，这都是为爱情让路。

　　我们之前的选择可能受到爱情的影响，这使我们以一种意想不到的方式进行选择，再回想起来会有一丝遗憾(就像一个之前学化学的最后去学心理学了，这个实验的确给我以深思)。但更重要的是，这使我们对父母和老师给孩子所灌输的这种认知有了深刻理解。不仅仅是工作的成功与性别无关——这个孩子们已经知道了。他们需要懂得的是，打破传统并不意味着没人喜欢。只有勇于突破桎梏，他们才会追随内心的选择，展现自己的才能。 尽管现代教育家付出了巨大努力，但在数学，技术和科学领域上，女性的地位仍未得到认可(女性在商业领域和政府高层的境遇也是如此)。最近一项研究认为，这种现象不能简单地归因于女性缺乏机会和鼓励——简而言之，女生看起来更擅长其他科目。这是为什么？

　　的确，在某种程度上，大家认为女性并不擅长数学这类领域，这种偏激和错误的观念已经根深蒂固。但一项最新调查显示，相对于数学和科学，女生更喜欢学习语言、艺术和人文学科的另一个原因是：在潜意识里，她们认为在这些传统男性领域中展现自己的能力会减少她们对男生的吸引力。

　　我们多数人都渴望得到异性的青睐，尤其在青春期的时候。女生特别在意这个，将其视作一个重要目标。男女双方都希望自己的言行符合文化规范中男女应有的形象。女性更看重集体性和教育性，所以追求那种可以让她们展示这种优势的职业——像教学，顾问和护理。男性则认为具有统治性，独立性和分析性——更适合在商业，金融和科学领域打拼。

　　遗憾的是，想知道男女是否有均等的能力胜任各个领域的工作，仅靠这些还不够。传统观念在潜意识里起到很大影响。当追求爱情时，我们自动屏蔽妨碍实现这个目标的行为，对女性而言，这就意味着爱情重于数学。 第一个实验：将学生分成两组，每组男女人数对等。一组看与爱情有关的照片(浪漫晚餐，海滩落日，烛光摇曳)，另一组看与智慧有关的照片(眼镜，图书馆，书籍)，用来让学生思考他们爱情或事业追求的目标。随后，他们评价自己对数学，技术和科学的兴趣。研究人员发现在男生中，喜欢这类科目的人不受照片内容的影响，而女生中，那些看过爱情类照片的人则对数学等科目兴趣不大(有趣的是，女生中那些看过智慧类图片的人也表现出和男生同样的兴趣)。

　　第二个实验：换了一种方式(即让学生不经意间听到他人的谈话，或是最近的数据，或是最近的测试)，得出了类似的结论：当女性脑中充满对爱情的渴望时，她们对数学的兴趣就会大幅减少。

　　第三个实验中，女生要求连续3个周写日记，记录她们每天追求的目标和参与的活动。研究发现，在女生有爱情目标的时候——例如有小男生传纸条，陷入热恋，或想要开始一段新恋情——她们就很少参加与数学有关的活动了，像上课、钻研题目或完成作业。(某天她们想要学术了，情况就反过来了)所以女生在恋爱期间不仅冷淡数学，她们也几乎不做数学练习，这无形中减弱了她们的数学能力和对数学的自信，而这不经意间加深了那些关于性别的偏激错误观点。

　　当然，这项研究对男性也有着同样有趣的暗示。在追寻爱情的路上，男性在追求传统女性时会有挫败感，像护理和公共事业。换句话说，爱情不仅会使女生在数学前踟蹰不前，也会使男生的行为像个自私的傻子，这都是为爱情让路。

　　我们之前的选择可能受到爱情的影响，这使我们以一种意想不到的方式进行选择，再回想起来会有一丝遗憾(就像一个之前学化学的最后去学心理学了，这个实验的确给我以深思)。但更重要的是，这使我们对父母和老师给孩子所灌输的这种认知有了深刻理解。不仅仅是工作的成功与性别无关——这个孩子们已经知道了。他们需要懂得的是，打破传统并不意味着没人喜欢。只有勇于突破桎梏，他们才会追随内心的选择，展现自己的才能。