According to research published in Science (Vol 314, p435), women led to believe that genetic factors cause female under-achievement subsequently perform much worse in maths tests than those told that social factors (such as teacher attention being given to boys) are responsible.

The two studies, undertaken by Steven Heine and Ilan Dar-Nimrod at the University of British Columbia, Canada, found that reminding a person that they belong to a stereotype causes them to behave accordingly - a process known as 'Stereotype Threat'. "As our research demonstrates, just hearing about that sort of idea is enough to negatively affect women's performance, and reproduce the stereotype that is out there," says Heine.

In the studies, women were given a maths test, then asked to read an article, and finally given a second maths test. There were four articles in total, making the following claims:

• No Gender Difference - an extensive meta-analysis across multiple countries revealed that males and females performed equally well on math tests.
  
• Standard Stereotype - the role of the female body in the arts was discussed with relation to women?s identity.
  
• Genetic Sterotype - males perform 5 percentile points better on math tests than women because of some genes that are found on the Y chromosome.
  
• Experiential Sterotype - males perform 5 percentile points better on math tests than women because teachers biased their expectations during early school formative years.

The impact on subsequent mathematics tests was pronounced, with those reading the Genetic Stereotype getting about half as many correct answers as those who read the Experiential Stereotype.

"Experiential accounts make people think they can overcome those experiences," says Heine. "Whereas the 'genes' group think of genes as the core of themselves, so ask: how can I overcome this, when this is part of who I am?"

Both Genetic and Standard Stereotype performed worse than those told there were no gender differences, highlighting the self-fulfilling nature of such negative stereotypical beliefs.

As we highlighted in a previous article, it pays to be an optimist. Take a look at the following letters:

HAPPINESSISNOWHERE

What did you read? Was it "Happiness is nowhere" or "Happiness is now here"?

Ah, Valentines day. A time for hopeless romantics to show the object of their desires just how much they mean to them... or perhaps a day when, despite our best efforts, relationships are strained by words and actions which do not seem to meet our partner's needs or expectations?

Chances are, if you found yourself in the latter category this year, it might just be something to do with your preferred representational system, or rather, the differences between your preferred representational system and that of your partner.

Our resources section now has an online Representational Systems Test, which allows you to find out which of your senses you favour, and how this can affect your personality, interactions with others, and perception of events.

The title for this article comes from the film, What The Bleep Do We Know!?, which we saw the other night. It is a strange mix of serious documentary on the science of Quantum Theory, woven around an entertaining story about a photographer who starts to see the world in a new way.

The film succeeds in bringing the mysteries of Quantum Physics to the general public, whilst offering an interesting metaphor about life. For years, scientists believed that they had physics sewn up - Newton's Laws seemed to cover all eventualities and everything seemed fine. And then Quantum Physics came along and messed everything up. Newton's Laws turned out to be a very small part of the physics of the world - only correct because they are approximations within a very limited scope of a much larger model of the world. And so scientists started to look at the world in a different way.

I was inspired to write a few lines after reading a short article entitled Anthony Robbins On Being A Hero on NLP Weekly.

As human beings we very often limit ourselves by our beliefs - that is, we so often look at what we can't do and don't want that we forget, or stop believing in what we are capable of. We look at how successful other people are and admire them in a 'if only that could be me' way, sending a clear message to our unconscious that we are not capable of achieving the same or better.

As Marianne Williamson said in A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a "Course in Miracles":

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

NLP provides tools to understand our model of the world and the structure of our behaviour. With it, you can identify negative thought patterns, limiting beliefs and processes that are inhibiting you and change them.

For more information on NLP and how mental models are formulated, please visit the Neuro Linguistic Programming page of our site.

If you would like to discuss how we could help become your own hero, please Contact us.