Negative Stereotypes Sabotage Girl Soccer Players
Exposure to Discouraging Viewpoints Affects Performance
Researchers from Germany’s Goethe University, in Frankfurt, sought to determine the impact that the belief held by some that females are poor soccer players would have on their performance. The study had 36 teenage female soccer players engage in a ball-dribbling drill before and after reading a pertinent article. Half of the subjects read about the perceived incompetence of female soccer players and the other half read a piece about the growing popularity of the sport.