A study links women?s concern with their looks with lower math scores

Women?s preoccupation with their appearance?particularly shame about their body shape and size?may drain their mental energy and undermine their academic performance, according to research findings published in the July issue of APA?s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 75, No. 1, p. 269?284).

'It appears that asking themselves the question, ?How do I look?? becomes disruptive to women?s math performance,' says University of Michigan psychologist Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, who conducted the study with a team of other researchers. 'By comparison, men have an easier time ridding their minds of that sort of cultural baggage.'

To test how much women and men 'objectify' themselves?self-consciously monitor their looks and attractiveness?and to measure its potential effects on math performance?a mental performance area that?s relatively easy to test?Fredrickson and her team asked 40 male and 42 female undergraduates to put on a sweater or swimsuit, complete a packet of psychological measures of objectification and body shame, take a math test and finally taste a Twix candy bar. Each participant tried on the swimsuit or sweater and completed the surveys and tests alone in a changing room.

For many of the women, wearing the swimsuit triggered shame and disgust with their bodies. The swimsuit 'reduced [female] participants to feeling ?I am my body??in effect, that swimsuit becomes you,' according to the researchers. By comparison, men often found the situation and their own bared bodies 'silly.'

Women also ate considerably less of their candy bars than men, and those reporting bodily shame showed the most restraint. But what concerns Fredrickson most was women?s tendency to score lower than men on the math tests when wearing bathing suits. (Women who took the test wearing sweaters still scored lower than men, but not as dramatically.) 'Because men found this a lighthearted situation, they could easily turn their attention to math,' says Fredrickson. 'But for women taking the test in a swimsuit, the thoughts they associated with their bared bodies were apparently disruptive of their performance.'

To counteract cultural and media messages that can spur women to obsess over their appearance, Fredrickson suggests that teachers and parents promote young girls? involvement in sports, music and other activities that promote 'ability rather than appearance.'

?B. Murray