Do spatial skills contribute to sex differences in different types of mathematical problems?

A battery consisting of spatial tests from the Kit of Factor-Referenced Cognitive tests, a linguistic test, and mathematical tests covering a wide exploratory collection of problems was administered to 262 female and 314 male students in Grades 10 and 12 to examine the relationship between sex differences on particular spatial tests and sex differences on particular mathematical problems. In general, the magnitude of the sex difference on any mathematical problem was not diminished when spatial and linguistic scores were taken into account. This finding was observed in the context of sex differences in most of the spatial tests and in the linguistic test. A difference in the direction and size of the sex difference as a function of the type of mathematical problem was also observed. Females performed better than males on logical, relatively abstract problems. Males demonstrated greater mastery of proportionality, scale, and 2- and 3-dimensional problems. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On sex differences in spatial abilities.

The present author agrees with the suggestions by P. J. Caplan et al (see record 1986-10956-001) that sex differences in average performance on spatial tasks are often modest in magnitude and inconsistent from one task to another and that spatial ability is not a unitary construct; however, their contentions that sex differences in spatial abilities are nonexistent and that the concept of spatial abilities is not sufficiently valid as to allow meaningful investigation of sex differences are challenged. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early sex differences in spatial skill.

This study investigated sex differences in young children's spatial skill. The authors developed a spatial transformation task, which showed a substantial male advantage by age 4 years 6 months. The size of this advantage was no more robust for rotation items than for translation items. This finding contrasts with studies of older children and adults, which report that sex differences are largest on mental rotation tasks. Comparable performance of boys and girls on a vocabulary task indicated that the male advantage on the spatial task was not attributable to an overall intellectual advantage of boys in the sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of sex differences in spatial ability: Mental rotation of three-dimensional objects.

Presented 2-dimensional computer-generated representations of 3-dimensional objects in pairs to 20 male and 20 female right-handed undergraduates. Ss were given 15 sec to make a same-different judgment of the objects, one of which was rotated 0°, 40°, 80°, 120°, or 160° from the other. Ss were also assessed on 2 standard spatial ability tests (the Spatial Relations subtest of the Differential Aptitude Tests, Form L, and the Standardized Road-Map Test of Direction Sense) and a verbal-imagery questionnaire. Analyses of the data showed that men were more accurate than women, and that the slope of the function relating response time to degree of rotation was steeper in women. There was a significant linear relation between performance and the degree of rotation. Rate of rotation and accuracy correlated with the other tests of spatial ability. Response time slope correlated with imagery in men but not in women, suggesting that frequent use of visual imagery was related to mental rotation rate in men, but not in women. There were no clear relations between performance and the strategy Ss professed to use in doing the mental rotation. (French summary) (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The evolution of sex differences in spatial ability.

It is widely believed that male mammals have better spatial ability than females. A large number of evolutionary hypotheses have been proposed to explain these differences, but few species have been tested. The authors critically review the proposed evolutionary explanations for sex differences in spatial cognition and conclude that most of the hypotheses are either logically flawed or, as yet, have no substantial support. Few of the data exclusively support or exclude any current hypotheses. The hypothesis with the strongest support proposes that range size was the selection pressure that acted to increase spatial ability. The authors suggest ways in which these hypotheses could be tested by presenting explicit predictions and suggesting suitable test species or conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental perspective of self-construals and sex differences: comment on Cross and Madson (1997)

S. E. Cross and L. Madson (1997) proposed that women and men differ in self-construals, with women as interdependent and men as independent, and that these construals are seen to underlie many sex differences in social behavior. In this article, the authors address the issues of sex differences in self-construals, the stability of self-construals, and the centrality of interdependence-independence to sex differences. They examine the proposal next from a developmental perspective, suggesting that development of the self does not precede children's gender-related behavior. Evidence regarding the socialization processes that may contribute to sex differences in self-construals is largely inconclusive, especially regarding the differential treatment of boys and girls by parents. Their developmental perspective provides insights into ways that Cross and Madson's approach can be elaborated to explain sex differences in social behavior.     

The relation between mathematical achievement and gender differences in spatial abilities: A suppression effect.

Three experiments were conducted to determine whether mathematical achievement acted as a suppressor variable on gender differences in spatial performance. In this context, a suppressor variable should produce an increase in the magnitude of gender differences in spatial abilities when it is partialed out from gender and the spatial test score. In 3 experiments, undergraduate students completed the Mental Rotations Test (MRT; see record 1980-08722-001) and indicated how many mathematics courses they took in high school (Exp 1) or their mean grade in high-school mathematics (Exps 2 and 3). In Exp 3, the Water Level Task (see record 1994-20230-001) was administered in addition to the MRT. In all 3 experiments, support was found for the notion that mathematical achievement acted as a suppressor variable. Results are discussed with regard to their implications in the study of the relations among gender, performance in mathematics courses, and spatial performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Handedness and sex differences in selective interference of verbal and spatial information.

To investigate handedness and sex differences in the way verbal and spatial information is coded in selective-interference tasks, 24 left- and 30 right-handed (as assessed by a handedness questionnaire) undergraduates were required to recall both letters and their positions in a matrix under 3 different kinds of interpolated conditions: visual, auditory, and noninterpolated activities. Results indicate that the selective-interference effect differed in right- and left-handers. Identity information had a dual encoding for both handedness groups, but it was relatively more biased toward visual encoding in left- than in right-handers; position information, however, was predominantly visually encoded to the same extent in both groups. Findings are interpreted as supporting the view that the differences in coding manner of right- and left-handers are related to differences in their hemispheric specialization. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Magnitude of sex differences in spatial abilities: A meta-analysis and consideration of critical variables.

In recent years, the magnitude, consistency, and stability across time of cognitive sex differences have been questioned. The present study examined these issues in the context of spatial abilities. A meta-analysis of 286 effect sizes from a variety of spatial ability measures was conducted. Effect sizes were partitioned by the specific test used and by a number of variables related to the experimental procedure in order to achieve homogeneity. Results showed that sex differences are significant in several tests but that some intertest differences exist. Partial support was found for the notion that the magnitude of sex differences has decreased in recent years. Finally, it was found that the age of emergence of sex differences depends on the test used. Results are discussed with regard to their implications for the study of sex differences in spatial abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age-related differences in risks of drinking and driving in gender and ethnic groups

We examine the extent to which empirically observed age-related differences in rates of drinking and driving can be explained by concurrent differences in drinking patterns. Building on previous research showing significant age differences in drinking patterns between men and women and among three ethnic groups, Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, our study considers whether there are unique gender and ethnic group differences in patterns of drinking and driving. Data were from 4395 respondents 12 to 80 years old in a general population survey of 20 urban areas in the United States. During the month preceding the interview, 1130 (25.7%) of all respondents had driven after having one or more drinks. Drinking pattern measures included drinking frequency, average drinking quantity, and the variance in the number of drinks consumed per occasion. To assess the relationships of drinking patterns to drinking and driving across age groups, two sets of analyses were conducted, one set in which age differences in drinking patterns were statistically controlled and one set in which they were not. Although the statistical control for drinking patterns reduced age differences between gender and ethnic groups, it did not eliminate them. The reduction demonstrated that part of observed group differences in driving after drinking over age among gender and ethnic groups is due to age-related differences in drinking patterns. However, despite controlling drinking patterns young respondents remained more likely to drink and drive. A supplementary analysis of self-reported incidents of driving while intoxicated (i.e., driving after having five or more drinks) further indicated that, controlling for drinking patterns, young respondents are most at risk.     

Reading skills in hyperlexia: A developmental perspective.

Hyperlexia is characterized by advanced word-recognition skills in individuals who otherwise have pronounced cognitive, social, and linguistic handicaps. Language, word recognition, and reading-comprehension skills are reviewed to clarify the nature and core deficits associated with the disorder. It is concluded that hyperlexia should be viewed as part of the normal variation in reading skills, which are themselves associated with individual differences in phonological, orthographic, and semantic processing, short-term memory, and print exposure. A compulsive preoccupation with reading may also be crucial to the development of a hyperlexic reading profile. A theoretical framework, based on recent connectionist models of reading development, is described. This perspective provides a satisfactory account for how individual differences in a number of different skills can lead to a variety of manifestations of reading behavior, including hyperlexia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Level and factor structure differences in selected abilities across race and sex groups.

Administered 16 aptitude tests and a rhythm test adapted from the Seashore Measures of Musical Talent to 545 female and 464 male high school seniors of Black, Hispanic, and White ethnic backgrounds. Race and sex accounted for .7% (for Finger Dexterity/Left) to 65% (for Grip/Right) of the test score variance, with a median of 13%. Race accounted for most of the explained variance for Idea Fluency, Tonal Memory, Pitch Discrimination, Inductive Reasoning, Paper Folding, Vocabulary, Ideaphoria, Shape Assembly, and Analytic Reasoning. Sex was more influential than race for Clerical, Word Association, Writing Speed, Finger Dexterity (Left and Right), and Grip (Left and Right). Factor analyses for the separate race and sex groups showed highly similar factor structures, with 10 well-defined factors replicated across all groups, despite pronounced socioeconomic status differences among the race groups. Simplicity of factor patterns for the tests and the well-defined factor structure indicated that redundancy was minimal for the aptitude tests. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of ethnic and gender differences in the pharmacodynamics of haloperidol

To observe pulmonary venous flow in dogs, the echocardiographic imaging planes and the techniques for examination, and the validations of anatomic location were investigated. Then, the velocity pattern of pulmonary venous flow was recorded in normal conscious dogs. Six imaging planes were available for observing the right or left caudal lobe pulmonary venous flow with two-dimensional or pulsed Doppler echocardiography. Of these, the left lateral apical 4-chamber view can be applied as standard view, because the pulmonary venous flow and transmitral flow could be recorded in this view simultaneously with small sampling angle. The velocity pattern of pulmonary venous flow demonstrated two forward waves in 19 of 20 dogs examined, with one peak occurring during ventricular systole and another during ventricular diastole. A reversed flow during atrial contraction was also seen in 11 dogs. In the two forward waves, the mean peak velocity and velocity-time integral of ventricular diastolic forward flow were significantly higher than those of systolic forward flow (46.49 +/- 6.79 vs. 31.13 +/- 4.92 cm/s, p < 0.0001 and 8.18 +/- 1.84 vs. 5.14 +/- 0.82 cm, p < 0.0001, respectively). The deceleration time of diastolic forward flow shortened with the increase of heart rate (r = -0.87, p < 0.0001). Pulmonary venous flow in dogs can be observed under transthoracic two-dimensional or pulsed Doppler echocardiography.     

Interest in ethnic information: A cross-cultural developmental study.

A total of 159 White, Indian, and Chinese Canadian kindergartners and 1st graders were introduced to 3 picture book characters from each of 5 ethnic groups: Indian, Black, White, Chinese, and Eskimo. These books were then used as stimulus materials for measuring the children's self-identification, information seeking, role taking, and social perception. The information-seeking measures were found to be related in a very minor way to attitude. However, it is proposed that the stage of development of self-identification influenced the child's selection of ethnic information. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of sex steroids on spatial performance: A review and an experimental clinical investigation.

Males typically surpass females in spatial performance, an outcome that may be linked to testosterone and estrogen. The authors (a) review physiological mechanisms, developmental periods, and past empirical work relevant to sex steroids' effects on human spatial performance and (b) report an experimental study of the role of actively circulating sex steroids in 55 adolescents being treated for delayed puberty (mean age 13.70 yrs). Sex steroids (stimulating early, middle, and late puberty) and placebos were given alternately over 21 months and spatial tests were given every 3 months. Spatial performance showed traditional sex differences but did not vary with levels of actively circulating sex steroids. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of general and specific abilities on student achievement: Similarities and differences across ethnic groups.

Compares the effects of specific and general abilities on the general and specific reading and mathematics achievement of students (grades 1–12) from three ethnic groups: African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian students. Data were drawn from the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery—Revised standardization sample. Multisample structural equation modeling was used to test whether the same specific abilities were important for all ethnic groups, and whether the magnitude of those influences was the same across groups. Results suggest that specific abilities are indeed important for understanding students' achievements, and that the same abilities are important for all ethnic groups. In most cases, the magnitude of those effects were indistinguishable across groups. However, there were differences in the influences for students in the elementary-, middle-, and high-school years; those differences may be related to the development of skills in reading and mathematics. The author argues that these findings demonstrate the importance of specific abilities for understanding specific achievements, and the importance of assessing such abilities to understand reading and mathematics achievement, regardless of a student's ethnicity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental investigation of the priority effect.

Studied the priority effect in free-recall learning from a developmental standpoint using proper controls for serial position bias. Data from 160 preschool, 2nd-grade, 6th-grade, and adult Ss, which show the absence of the priority effect at the preschool level and the presence of it at elementary and adult levels, strengthen the position that the priority effect reflects the use of a relatively sophisticated learning strategy and that it is not a product of serial position bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)