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Sex
differences in line judgment: relationship to mental rotation,
academic preparation and strategy use
I.D.Cherney1*; M.L.Collaer2
1Dept Psychol, Creighton
University , NE , USA
2Dept
Psychol, Middlebury College
,
VT , USA
Males score higher than females on certain visuospatial and mathematical
tasks, many of which tap functioning of the parietal lobe. The origins of
these differences, due to hormone exposure, brain lateralization, or social/experiential
factors, are of interest. We explored visuospatial ability using
a new group-administered task, the Judgment of Line Angle and Position-15
test (JLAP-15). This task is modeled after a test devised by A.L. Benton
& colleagues (the JLO) that depends upon functioning of the superior
parietal lobe. We explored (1)
how this task relates to the Vandenberg Mental Rotation Test (VMRT) and
(2) whether the predicted sex difference in performance could be explained
by academic experiences (i.e., college major & number of math courses)
and/or strategy usage. Undergraduates
(n=86 males, 112 females) completed the JLAP-15 and VMRT, and reported JLAP
strategies. Males outperformed
females on the JLAP and VMRT (d=1.04 for JLAP and 1.10 for VMRT), with a
significant intertask correlation.
JLAP scores were not influenced by coursework or math preparation.
Males and females reported different strategies, with the highest JLAP performance
found for subjects using “parallel strategies”; however, when jointly analyzing
the factors of sex and strategy on JLAP performance, only the main effect
of sex was significant.
In
conclusion, the JLAP compares favorably with the VMRT as a means of indexing
robust visuospatial sex differences.
The male advantage in line judgment appears to exist even after accounting
for strategy use and certain experiential factors, and may reflect differential
development of the parietal region in males and females, differences in
hemispheric laterality, or a failure to activate other relevant brain regions
by females.
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