Psychologists and educators interested in factors that might influence mathematical ability have examined intelligence, motivation, and attitudes toward mathematics. More recently, sex role and cognitive style have entered the picture. The relationships among intelligence, field dependence, sex role, mathematics background, and mathematical ability were investigated in 66 male and 66 female college students. Subjects completed the Embedded Figures Test, the Bem Sex Role Inventory, and the Slosson Intelligence Test. Subjects were also administered a modified version of a mathematics test measuring ability with basic mathematics facts and word problems, ranging from simple addition and subtraction to first-level algebra. Subjects reported all mathematics and related courses taken since ninth grade. Although the number of mathematics courses previously taken and intelligence were found to be the two best predictors of mathematical ability, other variables were found to have indirect contributions. The results revealed that field dependence and sex role indirectly affected mathematical ability by influencing the number of mathematics courses taken. For both males and females, higher scores on the Bem femininity scale were associated with lower scores on the mathematics test and a fewer number of mathematics courses taken. Field-dependent students tended to have taken fewer elected mathematics courses than did field-independent students. These findings suggest that there are personality variables that lead students to avoid mathematics courses. (Author/NB)