New York

This research investigates factors that affect women's performance and persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Specifically, my research examines the influence of women's romantic partner preferences, gendered beliefs, and goal pursuits related to romantic desirability and intelligence in helping to explain the underperformance and disproportionate dropout rate of women from STEM fields. Whereas men may not experience conflict when pursuing goals related to romantic desirability and intelligence in masculine domains such as STEM, women are theorized to experience significant conflict, such that the pursuit of romantic goals interferes with the pursuit of intelligence goals, particularly in stereotypically masculine domains, such as STEM.

To date, my colleagues and I have found that women (but not men) show less interest in STEM fields (but not other fields) when primed with the goal to be romantically desirable vs. other goals. Moreover, these effects are most evident among women who prefer to date romantic partners who are smarter than themselves. Indeed, women who prefer smarter partners are more traditional in their gender role attitudes in relationships; these women in particular have been found to underperform and to show diminished interest in traditionally masculine domains, such as STEM, when the goal to be romantically desirable is activated.