One phenomenon associated with gender stereotypes and our cognitive processes is Claude Steel's hypothesis of stereotype threat. This hypothesis proposes that negative group stereotypes cause anxiety and can hurt test performance. In a research study conducted atNew York University, women with high ability in math outperformed their male counterparts on a math test when the test was described as free from gender differences. Another group took the same test under normal testing conditions with no additional description of the test and only performed just as well as the men. In a seperate study under this same condition, the women performed significantly worse than the men. While some claim the effect of this stereotype anxiety is relatively small, it is worth considering when we talk about congnitive differences between men and women. Another issue to be mindful of with this topic is when and how these stereotypes are acquired. Several studies have been done with toddlers asking them to asess toys as being for boys, for girls, or for boys and girls and have shown that environmentalfactors (like parents) can give a child percieved social constraints that lead to gender stereotyping