the power of the sterotype

After reading an article on girlwpen.com and viewing the related youtube clip, there is no doubt left in me that stereotypes can be damaging. The post talked about a study that was done where women were given a math test; the test group was told half way through the exam that statistically women performed poorly in comparison to men on math tests, while the control group was given no such information. The results of the study found that the women who were told that statistic did consistently and significantly poorer on the math exam then those who were told nothing. This implies that simply being told that you are not expected to perform well, can lead you to perform poorly. But how far does this reaction to language go? If a girl hears someone say that all girls are sluts, is she more likely to be sexually promiscuous? Can it work in reverse; if a girl is told that women are better drivers, is she more likely to be a good driver, as opposed to the girl who has always heard that women are terrible drivers. How much of what we hear affects how we behave? As the YouTube clip mentions, it seems that women put in these situations have the unfortunate fate of becoming self fulfilling prophecies. Personally, I think it’s natural for people to have strong reactions to the things they hear, especially when they are so immensely relatable, but it’s startling to think about the physical manifestation that these feelings can create.