Females prefer romance to math homework.

• Position: Science & Techonology - Brief article

Why do women, who have made tremendous progress in education and the workplace over the past few decades, continue to be underrepresented at the highest levels of science, technology, engineering, and math? A series of studies by researchers at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.) have found that, when a woman's goal is to be romantically desirable, she distances herself from academic majors and activities related to STEM.

When romantic goals are activated, either by environmental cues or personal choice, women--but not men--show less interest in STEM and more in feminine fields, such as the arts, languages, and English. "One reason why this might be is that pursuing intelligence goals in masculine fields, such as STEM, conflicts with pursuing romantic goals associated with traditional romantic scripts and gender norms," posits lead author Lora E. Park, associate professor of psychology.

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