The apparent relation between gendered performance difference and evaluative style leads us to hypothesize that stereotype threat [30{32] may play an important role. If female students in these courses expect to confirm a negative stereotype about the performance of women on introductory STEM exams, they may expend some 5 cognitive resources on this concern, reducing their performance at the _10% level often imposed by stereotype threat [33, 34]. If so, actions aimed at reducing stereotype threat, ranging from values-affirmation to mindset interventions might be effective at eliminating these gendered performance differences [35].