LONDON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- If women are worse drivers than men, it may be because their confidence has been compromised by sexist jokes, U.S. and British researchers suggest.
A study by researchers at the University of Georgia and the University of Warwick in Britain found jokes about female drivers could be a self-fulfilling prophecy, The Daily Telegraph of London reported Tuesday.
"Our research suggests that by making a woman feel better about herself, she'll become better at spatial tasks -- which in the real world means tasks such as parking the car or reading a map," said Dr. Zachary Estes, a co-author of the study from the University of Warwick. "So a little bit of confidence-boosting may go a long way when it comes to reversing the car into a tight parking spot."
The study, which was published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, involved 500 college students who were asked to complete a variety of spatial tasks. In some tests the students were given positive or negative feedback on their performance.
Researchers found women who were praised tended to do as well on the tasks as their male counterparts.
