Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–3Cite as

Sex Differences in Spatial Abilities

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 73 Accesses

Synonyms

Sex differences in mental rotation; Sex differences in spatial information processing; Sex differences in spatial rotation; Sex differences in spatial visualization; Sex differences in Three-dimensional processing; Sex differences in Visuospatial ability

Definition

Differences between males and females in the faculty that processes neural representations of physical space, such as the orientation and movement of objects.

Introduction

Spatial ability (SA) is an overarching concept for a wide range of abilities that involve neural representation and manipulation of physical space. Examples include wayfinding, running, jumping, and ballistic feats, such as hitting game in hunt or enemies in warfare, as well as the invention and construction of machinery, writ large. While human (gonadal) sex differences in cognitive abilities are generally small, males systematically and substantially outperform females on tests of SA, with meta-analytic effect sizes in the range 0.48–0.94 (Linn...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Aleman, A., Bronk, E., Kessels, R. P. C., Koppeschaar, H. P. P., & van Honk, J. (2004). A single administration of testosterone improves visuospatial ability in young women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 29, 612–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barel, E., & Tzischinsky, O. (2017). The role of sex hormones and of 2D:4D ratio in individual differences in cognitive abilities. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 29, 497–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barel, E., & Tzischinsky, O. (2018). Age and sex differences in verbal and visuospatial abilities. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 14, 51–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berenbaum, S. A., & Beltz, A. M. (2016). How early hormones shape gender development. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 7, 53–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanch, A., Aluja, A., & Cornado, M.-P. (2015). Sex differences in chess performance: Analyzing participation rates, age, and practice in chess tournaments. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 117–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casey, M. B., Nuttall, R. L., Pezaris, E., & Benbow, C. P. (1995). The influence of spatial ability on gender differences in mathematics college entrance test scores across diverse samples. Developmental Psychology, 31, 697–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Celec, P., Ostatníkova, D., Putz, Z., & Kudela, M. (2002). The circalunar cycle of salivary testosterone and the visual-spatial performance. Bratislava Medical Journal, 103, 59–69.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Christiansen, K., & Knussmann, R. (1987). Sex hormones and cognitive functioning in men. Neuropsychobiology, 18, 27–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gur, R. C., & Gur, R. E. (2017). Complementarity of sex differences in brain and behavior: From laterality to multimodal neuroimaging. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 95, 189–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gur, R. C., Richard, J., Calkins, M., Chiavacci, R., Hansen, J. A., Bilker, W. B., et al. (2012). Age group and sex differences in performance on a computerized neurocognitive battery in children age 8–21. Neuropsychology, 26, 251–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halari, R., Hines, M., Kumari, V., Mehrotra, R., Wheeler, M., Ng, V., et al. (2005). Sex differences and individual differences in cognitive performance and their relationship to endogenous gonadal hormones and gonadotropins. Behavioral Neuroscience, 119, 104–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hampson, E., & Rovet, J. F. (2015). Spatial function in adolescents and young adults with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: Clinical phenotype and implications for the androgen hypothesis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 54, 60–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hampson, E., Ellis, C. L., & Tenk, C. M. (2008). On the relation between 2D:4D and sex-dimorphic personality traits. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 133–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, C. R. (2000). Gender and menstrual cycle effects in human spatial cognition. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 61, 2789.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heilbronner, N. (2013). The STEM pathway for women: What has changed? Gifted Child Quarterly, 57, 39–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirnstein, M., Hugdahl, K., & Hausmann, M. (2019). Cognitive sex differences and hemispheric asymmetry: A critical review of 40 years of research. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 24, 204–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, L. (2014). Why women see differently from the way men see? A review of sex differences in cognition and sports. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 3, 155–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linn, M. C., & Petersen, A. C. (1985). Emergence and characterization of sex differences in spatial ability: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 56, 1479–1498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lippa, R. (2010a). Gender differences in personality and interests: When, where, and why? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 1098–1110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lippa, R. (2010b). Sex differences in personality traits and gender-related occupational preferences across 53 nations: Testing evolutionary and social-environmental theories. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 619–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynn, R. (1994). Sex differences in intelligence and brain size: A paradox resolved. Personality and Individual Differences, 17, 257–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peers, S. (2016). Statistics on women in engineering. Stevenage: The Women’s Engineering Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pintzka, C., Evensmoen, H., Lehn, H., & Haberg, A. (2016). Changes in spatial cognition and brain activity after a single dose of testosterone in healthy women. Behavioural Brain Research, 298, 78–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puts, D. A., McDaniel, M., Jordan, C. L., & Breedlove, S. M. (2008). Spatial ability and prenatal androgens: Meta-analyses of congenital adrenal hyperplasia and digit ratio (2D:4D) studies. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 100–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reilly, D., & Neumann, D. L. (2013). Gender-role differences in spatial ability: A meta-analytic review. Sex Roles, 68, 521–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reilly, D., Neumann, D. L., & Andrews, G. (2015). Sex and sex-role differences in specific cognitive abilities. Intelligence, 54, 147–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Signorella, M., & Jamison, W. (1986). Masculinity, femininity, androgyny, and cognitive performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 100, 207–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silverman, I., Choi, J., Mackewn, A., Fisher, M., Moro, J., & Olshansky, E. (2000). Evolved mechanisms underlying wayfinding: Further studies on the hunter-gatherer theory of spatial sex differences. Evolution and Human Behavior, 21, 201–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silverman, I., Choi, J., & Peters, M. (2007). The hunter-gatherer theory of sex differences in spatial abilities: Data from 40 countries. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 261–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su, R., & Rounds, J. (2015). All STEM fields are not created equal: People and things interests explain gender disparities across STEM fields. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valla, J., & Ceci, S. J. (2011). Can sex differences in science be tied to the long reach of prenatal hormones? Brain organization theory, digit ratio (2D/4D), and sex differences in preferences and cognition. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 134–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valla, J., & Ceci, S. J. (2014). Breadth-based models of women’s underrepresentation in STEM fields: An integrative commentary on Schmidt (2011) and Nye et al. (2012). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 219–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voyer, D., Voyer, S. D., & Bryden, M. P. (1995). Magnitude of sex-differences in spatial abilities – a metaanalysis and consideration of critical variables. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 250–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wai, J., Hodges, J., & Makel, M. C. (2018). Sex differences in ability tilt in the right tail of cognitive abilities: A 35-year examination. Intelligence, 67, 76–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiking, S., Brattfjell, M., Iversen, E. E., Malinowska, K., Mikkelsen, R., Roed, L. P., et al. (2016). Sex differences in furniture assembly performance: An experimental study. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 30, 226–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zell, E., Krizan, Z., & Teeter, S. R. (2015). Evaluating gender similarities and differences using metasynthesis. American Psychologist, 70, 10–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Guy Madison

Authors
  1. Guy Madison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guy Madison .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA

    Haley Dillon

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Madison, G. (2019). Sex Differences in Spatial Abilities. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_404-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_404-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation