Implicit romantic fantasies and women's interest in personal power: a glass slipper effect?

Three experiments investigated the relationship between women's romantic fantasies and their interest in personal power. Romantic fantasies (associating partners with chivalry and heroism) were assessed using the Implicit Association Test and self-reports. In each experiment, women's implicit romantic fantasies were dissociated with their conscious beliefs. More important, implicit (but not explicit) romantic fantasies negatively predicted women's interest in personal power, including projected income, education goal, interest in high-status jobs, and group leadership appeal. By contrast, men's implicit romantic fantasies were not routinely linked to their interest in personal power. In concert, the findings are consistent with positing a "glass slipper" effect for women that may be an implicit barrier to gender equity.