In an experiment by Schmitt, Sylvia, and Branscombe, women learned that they had themselves performed very poorly but that another woman in the group had performed well. When the woman were also told that the research was designed to compare the scores of men and women,

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The women focused on the successful performance of the other woman to create a positive social identity. This is based on social identity theory, which suggests that individuals derive part of their self-esteem from the groups to which they belong. In this scenario, knowing that another woman performed well, especially in the context of a gender comparison, allowed the participants to feel a sense of pride and positive identity associated with their gender group, despite their own poor performance.

In an Experiment by Schmitt, Sylvia, and Branscombe, Women Learned