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The research, published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, builds upon previous findings that found that thinking about romantic goals affected women's attitudes toward careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
"What we found is that not all women reacted equally to these romantic goal primes," says Lora Park, a UB psychologist and the study's lead author. "Women who had a traditional romantic partner preference of wanting to date someone smarter than themselves were the ones who distanced themselves the most from STEM fields when they thought about romantic goals."
Park says it's interesting that women who didn't have this partner preference tended to show better STEM outcomes, suggesting the more non-traditional preference might contribute to greater interest in STEM.
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Category(s):Relationships & Marriage, Women's Issues
Source material from University at Buffalo
