Explaining the sex difference in children's mental rotation performance

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin R. Ratliff ◽  
Susan C. Levine ◽  
Jessica Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Sex Difference

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.

scholarly journals Mental Rotation in Human Infants

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 1063-1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Moore ◽  
Scott P. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Familiar Object ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Three Dimensional Space

A sex difference on mental-rotation tasks has been demonstrated repeatedly, but not in children less than 4 years of age. To demonstrate mental rotation in human infants, we habituated 5-month-old infants to an object revolving through a 240° angle. In successive test trials, infants saw the habituation object or its mirror image revolving through a previously unseen 120° angle. Only the male infants appeared to recognize the familiar object from the new perspective, a feat requiring mental rotation. These data provide evidence for a sex difference in mental rotation of an object through three-dimensional space, consistently seen in adult populations.

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.

A Sex Difference in Mental Rotation in Young Infants

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 1067-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C. Quinn ◽  
Lynn S. Liben
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
Familiar Stimulus ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Novelty Preference ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Young Infants

Three- to 4-month-old female and male human infants were administered a two-dimensional mental-rotation task similar to those given to older children and adults. Infants were familiarized with the number 1 (or its mirror image) in seven different rotations between 0° and 360°, and then preference-tested with a novel rotation of the familiar stimulus paired with its mirror image. Male infants displayed a novelty preference for the mirror-image stimulus over the novel rotation of the familiar stimulus, whereas females divided attention between the two test stimuli. The results point toward an early emergence of a sex difference in mental rotation.

scholarly journals Male sexual orientation, gender nonconformity, and neural activity during mental rotations: an fMRI study

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Folkierska-Żukowska ◽  
Qazi Rahman ◽  
Artur Marchewka ◽  
Marek Wypych ◽  
Dawid Droździel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Gender Nonconformity ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Gender Nonconforming ◽  
Superior Frontal Gyrus

Abstract The cross-sex shift hypothesis predicts that gay men should perform more like heterosexual women on important neurocognitive tasks on which men score higher than women, such as mental rotation. Studies also suggest sex differences exist in the neural correlates of mental rotation. However, no studies have taken sexual orientation into account or considered within-group variation attributable to recalled gender nonconformity (a developmental trait reliably associated with human nonheterosexuality). We quantified the neural correlates of mental rotation by comparing two groups of gay men, gender conforming (n = 23) and gender nonconforming (n = 23), to gender conforming heterosexual men (n = 22) and women (n = 22). We observed a sex difference between heterosexual men and women in the premotor cortex/supplementary motor cortex and left medial superior frontal gyrus. We also observed a sex difference as well as a cross-sex shift in gay men who recalled being gender nonconforming as children in the right superior frontal gyrus, right angular gyrus, right amygdala/parahippocampal gyrus, and bilaterally in the middle temporal gyrus and precuneus. Thus, cross-sex shifts may be associated with underlying developmental factors which are associated with sexual orientation (such as gender nonconformity). The results also suggest that gay men should not be studied as a homogenous group.

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.

A Sex Difference in Mental Rotation in Infants: Convergent Evidence

Infancy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C. Quinn ◽  
Lynn S. Liben
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Sex Difference

Confidence Mediates the Sex Difference in Mental Rotation Performance

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Estes ◽  
Sydney Felker
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Sex Difference
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