Some of the article's foundational research was based on the idea that certain cognitive abilities could influence the gender achievement gap in science. According to past research, women seem to have the advantage in verbal comprehension skills while male students seem to be more skilled in quantitative and visual-spatial skills, especially the latter (which could also be the reason why male students seem to do better in science classes such as physics). Not every country has research that supports this idea of cognitive skills leading to better outcomes in science classes, though there may be other variables influencing this result.