Here, in the second of two linked reports, we focus on sex differences in visual processing. Study 1 presented a time estimation task in virtual space and generated the predicted Space*Sex interaction with men performing significantly better in far than in near space. Study 2 used a laboratory-based puzzle completion task in which participants saw their hands and the puzzle in far or near space. This time women performed significantly better in near than far space. Study 3 simplified the puzzle completion task. Once again the predicted Space*Sex interaction was significant but with both sexes showing significantly different performances: women better in near, men in far space. These findings are compatible with an evolutionary origin as predicted by the hunter-gatherer hypothesis. Far and near space are processed in the ventral and dorsal streams, two cortical regions more widely known as the "what" and "where" visual systems. To those traditional descriptions we suggest adding that the two streams are sex-dimorphic, with the ventral "there" system interacting with far space and favored in men and the dorsal "here" system interacting with near space and favored in women. Future studies of visual systems should consider the impact of sex differences and the spatial location of stimulus presentations.
We report two Internet studies that investigated sex differences in the accuracy and precision of judging time to arrival. We used accuracy to mean the ability to match the actual time to arrival and precision to mean the consistency with which each participant made their judgments. Our task was presented as a computer game in which a toy UFO moved obliquely towards the participant through a virtual three-dimensional space on route to a docking station. The UFO disappeared before docking and participants pressed their space bar at the precise moment they thought the UFO would have docked. Study 1 showed it was possible to conduct quantitative studies of spatiotemporal judgments in virtual reality via the Internet and confirmed reports that men are more accurate because women underestimate, but found no difference in precision measured as intra-participant variation. Study 2 repeated Study 1 with five additional presentations of one condition to provide a better measure of precision. Again, men were more accurate than women but there were no sex differences in precision. However, within the coincidence-anticipation timing (CAT) literature, of those studies that report sex differences, a majority found that males are both more accurate and more precise than females. Noting that many CAT studies report no sex differences, we discuss appropriate interpretations of such null findings. While acknowledging that CAT performance may be influenced by experience we suggest that the sex difference may have originated among our ancestors with the evolutionary selection of men for hunting and women for gathering.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.