Stereotypes affect young girls' interests.

• Position: Your Life

By age six, girls become less likely than boys to associate brilliance with their own gender and are more likely to avoid activities said to require brilliance, according to a study conducted by researchers from three universities.

The study, led by Lin Bian, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Andrei Cimpian, professor of psychology at New York University, demonstrates how early gender stereotypes take hold and points to the potential of their lifelong impact. Sarah-Jane Leslie, professor of philosophy at Princeton (N.J.) University, also contributed to the study.

"Even though the stereotype equating brilliance with men doesn't match reality, it might nonetheless take a toll on girls' aspirations and on their eventual careers," observes...