Society has constructed the stereotype that jocks are dumb. Numerous videos have portrayed athletes, such as football players, to be jerks who struggle with anything pertaining to education. There have been studies to test this popular stereotype.

At Indiana University, students and student-athletes were asked to fill out surveys. These surveys revolved around the perceptions of student-athletes. Almost 50% of college students felt the student-athletes were not quite as intelligent as those who did not play sports in college. 44% were under the impression that student-athletes took easier classes in order to maintain their role as athletes.

It is said that the attribution theory can explain why athletes tend to actually have better school performances. People attribute failure to a lack in effort. Success is accredited to the work one puts behind their attempts. An individual formulates what is considered a success and a failure in their eyes. Student athletes strive to be competitive and are wired to be persistent in order to obtain their goals. They read success and failure in each of their decisions and actively do so through sports and then academics as well, typically. Some reasons why student athletes may aspire to be academically successful include the fact that their dedication to training transfers to academics, they are motivated to get good grades so as to receive a scholarship to play a sport in college, and they receive special encouragement that is provided by coaches and trainers.

A study was completed in 2012 in which tested Swedish soccer players who played on either the elite Allsvenskan league in Sweden or on a Division l team. The soccer players ended up scoring 95% higher on specific brain functions that are known as executive functions in comparison to the general population that did not play sports. Executive functions include time management, working memory, and attention. These executive functions are essential in assisting a person with their studies.  For example, the use of time management is crucial when it comes to turning in assignments on time or studying for tests. The soccer players from the elite league were found to be even smarter than those playing for Division l teams (interestingly enough).

Another study was conducted in which the grades of 1,550 student-athletes and 4,553 non-student-athletes were compared. The average GPAs were higher from the student athletes, as their average was a 2.67, as compared to 2.12 for those students who were not athletes. There have been other studies in which have also shown there is a positive correlation between athletes and higher grades. In addition, student-athletes were found to have been failing less classes on average and were more likely to take collegiate level courses in high school.

As a result of the numerous studies conducted, I would say the stereotype about athletes should be forgotten. Student athletes have proven to have done better in classes than those who did not in several studies.