Sex Differences in Verbal and Spatial Ability Reconsidered in Relation to Body Size Lung Volume, and Sex Hormones

2003 ◽  
Vol 96 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1347-1360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Üner Tan ◽  
Mukadder Okuyan ◽  
Tugba Albayrak ◽  
Ahmet Akgun
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Sex Hormones ◽  
Lung Volume ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Intelligence Test ◽  
Better Than

Sex differences in verbal and nonverbal abilities were reconsidered in relation to bodily measures and sex hormones in Turkish university students. Perceptual-verbal ability was evaluated using As Test. To assess the nonverbal abilities, the mental rotation test and Cattell's Culture Fair Intelligence Test were used. As expected, the 53 women performed better than men on the As Test; 79 men had a higher mean than the 53 women on the mental rotation task; there was no sex difference on Cattell's IQ Test. Cattell IQs correlated only with tidal volume of lungs. Scores on the As Test did not show significant correlations with body size and lung capacities. Mental rotation was significantly correlated with height, weight, and lung volume. With covariates of height, weight, and vital capacity, sex differences in mental rotation completely disappeared, but the difference on the As Test increased while Cattell IQ remained sex-neutral. With testosterone as covariate, the sex difference on the As test increased but on the mental rotation task disappeared; Cattell IQ was sex-neutral. With covariates of estradiol and progesterone, sex differences on the As test disappeared; mental rotation scores and Cattell IQ were not influenced. Under a combined covariation of height, weight, and testosterone, sex differences in mental rotation reversed, women scoring better than men; after adding estradiol or progesterone instead of testosterone to this model, sex differences on mental rotation completely disappeared, but verbal ability and Cattell IQ were not changed. These results suggest that Cattell's Culture Fair Intelligence Test is unique in resistance to sex differences; perceptual-verbal ability was the most sex-specific mental trait but with dependence on estradiol; mental rotation, on the contrary, was least sex-specific, depending on body size, lung volume, sex hormones, and their combined actions, which explains women's better performance.

Sex Differences in Mental Rotation Performance Through Holding Weights By the Hands

2020 ◽  
pp. 027623662095233
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Muto ◽  
Soyogu Matsushita ◽  
Kazunori Morikawa
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Embodied Cognition ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Sensorimotor Processes

Mental rotation is known to be mediated by sensorimotor processes. To deepen our understanding of the role of somatosensory inputs in mental rotation, we investigated the effects of holding weight by the hands on mental rotation performance. In an experiment, 22 male and 22 female students performed a chronometric mental rotation task while holding either light or heavy bags in both hands. Results showed that females holding heavy bags were quicker and more accurate at mental rotation than females holding light bags, as evidenced by shallower slopes for response times (RTs) and error rates. In contrast, males showed no such heavy-bag-induced improvement. Unlike slopes, intercepts for RTs and error rates were equivalent regardless of sex and bag weight. Consistent with previous research on embodied cognition, the present findings demonstrated the facilitatory role of somatosensory cues by weight in mental rotation and suggested sex differences in embodied processes in mental rotation.

The Brain-Sex Theory of Occupational Choice: A Counterexample

2005 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Esgate ◽  
Maria Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Occupational Choice ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Fashion Design ◽  
Generation Task ◽  
Reverse Pattern ◽  
Explicit Training ◽  
The Brain

The brain-sex theory of occupational choice suggests that males and females in male-typical careers show a male pattern of cognitive ability in terms of better spatial than verbal performance on cognitive tests with the reverse pattern for females and males in female-typical careers. These differences are thought to result from patterns of cerebral functional lateralisation. This study sought such occupationally related effects using synonym generation (verbal ability) and mental rotation (spatial ability) tasks used previously. It also used entrants to these careers as participants to examine whether patterns of cognitive abilities might predate explicit training and practice. Using a population of entrants to sex-differentiated university courses, a moderate occupational effect on the synonym generation task was found, along with a weak ( p<.10) sex effect on the mental rotation task. Highest performance on the mental rotation task was by female students in fashion design, a female-dominated occupation which makes substantial visuospatial demands and attracts many students with literacy problems such as dyslexia. This group then appears to be a counterexample to the brain-sex theory. However, methodological issues surrounding previous studies are highlighted: the simple synonym task appears to show limited discrimination of the sexes, leading to questions concerning the legitimacy of inferences about lateralisation based on scores from that test. Moreover, the human figure-based mental rotation task appears to tap the wrong aspect of visuospatial skill, likely to be needed for male-typical courses such as engineering. Since the fashion-design career is also one that attracts disproportionately many male students whose sexual orientation is homosexual, data were examined for evidence of female-typical patterns of cognitive performance among that subgroup. This was not found. This study therefore provides no evidence for the claim that female-pattern cerebral functional lateralisation is likely in gay males.

Sex, Temperament, and Language-Related Differences in Examination Performance: A Study of Multiple-Choice and Written-Answer Tests

1999 ◽  
Vol 85 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1123-1134
Author(s):  
David L. Robinson ◽  
Jaafar Behbehani ◽  
Mumtaz Shukkur
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Word Production ◽  
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Examination Performance

Arousability theory of Robinson predicts sex differences in temperament and in verbal ability and cognitive processing. Related hypotheses were tested in a sample of 73 Kuwaiti 3rd-year medical students by analysis of data obtained from administration of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and from questions requiring written answers or multiple-choice answers in an examination in psychology. Principal components analysis yielded a large sex difference in word production and indicated that variance of written answers loaded on two uncorrelated “linguistic” and “knowledge/cognition” components. Sex differences in temperament were also manifest but these contributed little to the observed differences in examination performance. Statistical tests indicated no sex difference in multiple-choice performance, but the women produced more words than the men and did better on the written-answer questions. In addition, there were substantial and statistically significant correlations between word production and performance on both types of test. The results confirmed predictions from arousability theory that the multiple-choice questions provided a more equitable basis than short written answers for examining classes of men and women in medical school. Written answers for questions could penalise students who are shown to be less proficient in the use of English as a second language.

Spatial Task Performance, Sex Differences, and Motion Sickness Susceptibility

2002 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max E. Levine ◽  
Robert M. Stern
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Motion Sickness ◽  
Spatial Ability ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Spatial Task ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Questionnaire Score

There are substantial individual differences in susceptibility to motion sickness, yet little is known about what mediates these differences. Spatial ability and sex have been suggested as possible factors in this relationship. 89 participants (57 women) were administered a Motion Sickness Questionnaire that assesses motion sickness susceptibility, a Water-level Task that gauges sensitivity to gravitational upright, and a mental Rotation Task that tests an individual's awareness of how objects typically move in space. Significant sex differences were observed in performance of both the Water-level Task ( p<.01), and the Mental Rotation Task ( p<.005), with women performing less accurately than men. Women also had significantly higher scores on the Motion Sickness Questionnaire ( p<.005) Among men, but not women, significant negative relationships were observed between Water-level Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score ( p<.001) and between Mental Rotation Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score ( p<.005). In conclusion, women performed significantly more poorly than men did on the spatial ability tasks and reported significantly more bouts of motion sickness. In audition, men showed a significant negative relationship between spatial ability and motion sickness susceptibility.

Subgroup Analysis of Sex Difference on the Vandenberg-Kuse Mental Rotation Test

2003 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kázmér Karádi ◽  
Árpád Csathó ◽  
Beatrix Kovács ◽  
Péter Kosztolányi
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Spatial Ability ◽  
Subgroup Analysis ◽  
Mental Rotation Test ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Rotation Test ◽  
The Mean

A large sex difference has been elicited on the Vandenberg-Kuse mental rotation test. Prior research emphasizes the biological root of this sex difference. In recent experiments we confirmed this viewpoint. A large sample was administered the test, and the distributions of scores for men and women ( N = 138; 68 men and 70 women; ages 19 to 23 years). The mean scores were used as cut-off points to group the men and the women in different subgroups (Low/Women, High/Women, Low/Men, High/Men). There were large differences among all subgroups, reinforcing Kimura's testosterone hypothesis for sex differences in spatial ability.

scholarly journals Absence of sex differences in mental rotation performance in autism spectrum disorder

Autism ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 855-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie S Rohde ◽  
Alexandra L Georgescu ◽  
Kai Vogeley ◽  
Rolf Fimmers ◽  
Christine M Falter-Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Psychometric Function ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Cognitive Profile ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Extreme Male Brain

Mental rotation is one of the most investigated cognitive functions showing consistent sex differences. The ‘Extreme Male Brain’ hypothesis attributes the cognitive profile of individuals with autism spectrum disorder to an extreme version of the male cognitive profile. Previous investigations focused almost exclusively on males with autism spectrum disorder with only limited implications for affected females. This study is the first testing a sample of 12 female adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder compared to 14 males with autism spectrum disorder, 12 typically developing females and 14 typically developing males employing a computerised version of the mental rotation test. Reaction time and accuracy served as dependent variables. Their linear relationship with degree of rotation allows separation of rotational aspects of the task, indicated by slopes of the psychometric function, and non-rotational aspects, indicated by intercepts of the psychometric function. While the typical and expected sex difference for rotational task aspects was corroborated in typically developing individuals, no comparable sex difference was found in autism spectrum disorder individuals. Autism spectrum disorder and typically developing individuals did not differ in mental rotation performance. This finding does not support the extreme male brain hypothesis of autism.

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