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.

The players that read the negative article needed significantly more time to complete the drill than those that read the positive article, possibly highlighting the impact that negative stereotyping has on women.

This article appears in the May 2017 issue of Natural Awakenings.