Do the sex differences play such an important role in explaining performance in spatial tasks?

Contreras, María José; Martínez-Molina, Agustín; Santacreu, José

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.12.010

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(35 reference statements)

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“…This converges with previous findings by Billington et al (2007) that also indicated that brain type was the best predictor of entry into physical sciences, more so than sex and test performance on tasks measuring empathy and systemizing. Previous work by Contreras et al (2012) also found no role of sex in the prediction of performance of dynamic spatial tasks, whereas lower level cognitive processes did. Our findings suggest that the EQ in combination with SQ-R could be included as assessment tools for choice of major.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…Many studies have demonstrated that men on average perform better than women on tasks that require systemizing skills, such as spatial navigation, mental rotation (Geiser et al 2008b;Nazareth et al 2013;Voyer et al 1995), dynamic spatial tasks (Contreras et al 2001), and mathematical problem-solving tasks (Kimura 2002). However, this field is also characterized by inconsistent findings, suggesting that environmental factors and experience with spatial activities contribute to minimizing or maximizing sex differences in visuospatial abilities (Contreras et al 2012;Geiser et al 2008a;Rodán et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How predictive are sex and empathizing–systemizing cognitive style for entry into the academic areas of social or physical sciences?

et al. 2017

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Based on the Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) theory, it was hypothesized that the underrepresentation of female students in the physical sciences and the underrepresentation of males in the social sciences relates to differences in E-S cognitive style between the sexes. This hypothesis was tested in 115 physical science students and 155 social science students from a university in the Netherlands. The students completed visuospatial tests and the systemizing quotient-revised (SQ-R) as measures for systemizing, and a Cartoon Prediction test and the empathy quotient (EQ) as measures for empathizing. Independent of sex, the physical science students scored significantly lower than social science students on EQ (with large effect size) and 'brain type' that represents the standardized difference score between EQ and SQ-R (with large effect size). Physical science students, furthermore, scored significantly higher on the Cartoon Prediction task and one of the visuospatial tasks; however, these effects were only small of size. Unlike the scores on the SQ-R and the performance tests, the 'brain type' score of the EQ and SQ-R questionnaires was a good predictor of entry into social or physical sciences. Interestingly, the typical sex differences in more empathizing and less systemizing in females compared to males were only small for EQ and 'brain type', and absent for the SQ-R and the performance tests. This study only partially confirms the E-S theory, because typical sex differences were only minor in this selective sample and only the self-report measures predicted academic area in the absence of a role for sex.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How predictive are sex and empathizing–systemizing cognitive style for entry into the academic areas of social or physical sciences?

et al. 2017

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“…Researchers have observed that traditionally men have performed better than the women on the spatial ability measures (e.g., Estes & Felker, ; Pietsch & Jansen, ). Concurrently, there are studies where gender differences on spatial ability were mitigated by spatial instruction (Contreras, Martínez‐Molina, & Santacreu, ). The results of our study support the latter view of the field, that is, imparting spatial instruction can alleviate the gender differences on performance related to spatial ability measures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring 3‐D virtual reality technology for spatial ability and chemistry achievement

Merchant

Goetz

Keeney-Kennicutt³

et al. 2013

Computer Assisted Learning

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We investigated the potential of Second Life ® (SL), a three-dimensional (3-D) virtual world, to enhance undergraduate students' learning of a vital chemistry concept. A quasiexperimental pre-posttest control group design was used to conduct the study. A total of 387 participants completed three assignment activities either in SL or using two-dimensional (2-D) images. Students were administered an 11-question chemistry achievement test and two measures of spatial ability (Purdue Visualization of Rotations Test, Card Rotations Test). Although analyses of covariance revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups as a whole for any of the outcome measures, a subgroup analyses was conducted to decompose the relative impact of 3-D virtual reality instruction within SL. We found that students classified as having poor spatial ability showed significantly greater improvement in understanding the 3-D nature of molecules if they did relevant activities in a 3-D virtual world than those students who only worked with 2-D images.

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“…However, previously performed studies have not yet been able to explain the sex-specific differences in these tasks and simply assumed sex as a causal factor. Contreras et al ( 2012 ) have studied this issue using three different spatial matching tasks. They found that sex was not important for correctly solving these tasks, but rather a specific type of process that determined participants' efficiency in solving a spatial task.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of age, sex and arm on the precision of arm position sense—left-arm superiority in healthy right-handers

Schmidt

Depper

Kerkhoff

2013

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Position sense is an important proprioceptive ability. Disorders of arm position sense (APS) often occur after unilateral stroke, and are associated with a negative functional outcome. In the present study we assessed horizontal APS by measuring angular deviations from a visually defined target separately for each arm in a large group of healthy subjects. We analyzed the accuracy and instability of horizontal APS as a function of age, sex and arm. Subjects were required to specify verbally the position of their unseen arm on a 0-90° circuit by comparing the current position with the target position indicated by a LED lamp, while the arm was passively moved by the examiner. Eighty-seven healthy subjects participated in the study, ranging from 20 to 77 years, subdivided into three age groups. The results revealed that APS was not a function of age or sex, but was significantly better in the non-dominant (left) arm in absolute errors (AE) but not in constant errors (CE) across all age groups of right-handed healthy subjects. This indicates a right-hemisphere superiority for left APS in right-handers and neatly fits to the more frequent and more severe left-sided body-related deficits in patients with unilateral stroke (i.e. impaired APS in left spatial neglect, somatoparaphrenia) or in individuals with abnormalities of the right cerebral hemisphere. These clinical issues will be discussed.

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Do the sex differences play such an important role in explaining performance in spatial tasks?

Cited by 14 publications

References 16 publications

How predictive are sex and empathizing–systemizing cognitive style for entry into the academic areas of social or physical sciences?

How predictive are sex and empathizing–systemizing cognitive style for entry into the academic areas of social or physical sciences?

Exploring 3‐D virtual reality technology for spatial ability and chemistry achievement

Effects of age, sex and arm on the precision of arm position sense—left-arm superiority in healthy right-handers

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