Sex differences in the performance of mental rotation tasks , one of the largest cognitive sex difference have been significantly reduced and even eliminated altogether by simple changes such as telling participants that females show superior performance. Females improved performance and reached even similar to male's scores in the mental rotation test when they were led to believe they were better than males in the task. (Moe 2009. )
It is already been documented in scientific literature that beliefs about one's abilities or task characteristics are supposed to affect cognitive performance, ( for example Dweck, 1999).
In this experiment ( Mao 2009) females improved performance after having been instructed that they do better than males in mental rotation , ie encouraging the expectation to succeed by stressing in-group skills in the specific task had a self-enhancing effect. Participants increase performance when gender superiority is suggested by the given instructions. Instructions about ones' own gender superiority can motivate to confirm held beliefs (i.e. to perform according to the stereotype) giving support through self-integrity and self-esteem
ref : Moè, A. (2009). Are males always better than females in mental rotation? Exploring a gender belief explanation. Learning and Individual Differences, 19, 21–27. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1041608008000216
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