Insp. Clue!So?
05-10-2007, 10:14 AM
Possibly a great deal:
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Parents are being warned to think long and hard when
choosing names for their babies as research has discovered
that girls who are given very feminine names, such as Anna,
Emma or Elizabeth, are less likely to study maths or physics
after the age of 16, a remarkable study has found.
Both subjects, which are traditionally seen as predominantly
male, are far more popular among girls with names such as
Abigail, Lauren and Ashley, which have been judged as less
feminine in a linguistic test. The effect is so strong that
parents can set twin daughters off on completely different
career paths simply by calling them Isabella and Alex, names
at either end of the spectrum. A study of 1,000 pairs of
sisters in the US found that Alex was twice as likely as her
twin to take maths or science at a higher level.
Part of the reason is that names provide a powerful image of
a person and influence people's reactions to them. An
Isabella is less likely to study maths, according to the
theory, because people would not expect her to.
...
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2068023,00.html
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Parents are being warned to think long and hard when
choosing names for their babies as research has discovered
that girls who are given very feminine names, such as Anna,
Emma or Elizabeth, are less likely to study maths or physics
after the age of 16, a remarkable study has found.
Both subjects, which are traditionally seen as predominantly
male, are far more popular among girls with names such as
Abigail, Lauren and Ashley, which have been judged as less
feminine in a linguistic test. The effect is so strong that
parents can set twin daughters off on completely different
career paths simply by calling them Isabella and Alex, names
at either end of the spectrum. A study of 1,000 pairs of
sisters in the US found that Alex was twice as likely as her
twin to take maths or science at a higher level.
Part of the reason is that names provide a powerful image of
a person and influence people's reactions to them. An
Isabella is less likely to study maths, according to the
theory, because people would not expect her to.
...
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2068023,00.html