According to a new study, women who think they’re unattractive, and fear they won’t be able to land a mate, are more likely to work harder pursuing a career than attractive women. They also delay having children and when they finally did start a family, they had fewer kids.

One of the study’s researchers, Dr. Kristina Durante, says, “Most women don’t realize it, but an important factor in their career choice is how easy or difficult it is to find a husband. When a woman’s dating prospects look bleak, as is the case when there are few available men, she is much more likely to delay starting a family and instead seek a career.”

Dr. Durante, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Texas, also says, “Women who judged themselves to be less desirable to men – those who are not like Angelina Jolie – were most likely to take the career path when men became scarce.”