Men's and Women's Beliefs about the Influence of the Menstrual Cycle on Academic Performance: A Preliminary Study¹

Abstract

A preliminary investigation of beliefs about the influence of the menstrual cycle on work performance was conducted. Undergraduate students were asked to make a pass/fail decision about a borderline exam mark based on a wide variety of educational, medical, and personal information about the candidate and to rate the importance of various factors in their decisions. Three versions of the questionnaire were used, varying only in the menstrual cycle status of the examinee. The results showed that students do believe that the premenstrual and, particularly, menstrual phases have a negative impact on performance. However, in this context, they were considered of minor importance compared with educational and personality factors.