Study Guide for Psychology of Gender Exam 2:
Sex differences in cognitive abilities?
Theories and concepts to understand









How do males and females actually differ in visual-spatial skills?
o How are males and females perceived to differ?
o Specific visual-spatial skills studied (for example, mental rotation, spatial
visualization)
o How large are the sex differences?
o For which specific skills are the differences larger, smaller, M > F, F < M?
o What about sex differences in number of visual-spatial geniuses?
How do males and females actually differ in math skills?
o How are males and females perceived to differ?
o Specific math skills studied (for example, computation, word problems)
o How large are the sex differences?
o For which specific skills are the differences larger, smaller, M > F, F < M,
or F = M?
o What about sex differences in number of math geniuses?
How do males and females actually differ in verbal skills?
o How are males and females perceived to differ?
o Specific verbal skills studied (for example, reading, verbal analogies, pace
of language development)
o How large are the sex differences?
o For which specific skills are the differences larger, smaller, M > F, F < M,
or F = M?
o What about sex differences in reading disabilities?
Social evolution theory of sex differences in visual-spatial skills
o Which skills are assumed to be more adaptive for males? Why?
o Which skills are assumed to be more adaptive for females? Why?
o Criticisms
Be able to think critically about theories pointing to parents’ treatment of boys
vs. girls (relevant to other topics too)
o Why is demonstrating a difference in treatment of boys vs. girls not
sufficient evidence for a socialization explanation of cognitive sex
differences?
o Causality—what caused differences in treatment?
Sex differences in diagnosis of reading problems, assignment to remedial
reading programs—possible reasons
How do parents respond differently to girls vs. boys in ways that might affect
verbal skill development?
Self-fulfilling prophecy and sex differences in reading skills
Practice/training theory of sex differences in visual-spatial skills
o Relevant evidence
o What types of experiences are theorized to be important?






Do females take fewer advanced math courses in high school than do males?
Gender schemas and association of math with males—effects
Parents’ attributions when a girl vs. a boy is successful in math
Role of stereotype threat in performance on visual-spatial and math tests
o How is stereotype threat induced in the studies?
o Why does stereotype threat interfere with performance?
o What type of woman is most susceptible to stereotype threat on math
tests?
o What types of math questions/tests are most likely to induce stereotype
threat?
o How can stereotype threat be reduced or eliminated (research-based
ideas)
o Implications for asking demographic information before standardized
tests
Innate sex differences in circulating hormones theory of sex differences in
visual-spatial skills
o Problems with causality in hormone research
o Cycles of hormones in adult women, adult men
According to the prenatal hormone theory of sex differences in cognitive abilities
o Role of testosterone wash
o Proposed effect on male brains
o Explanation for sex differences in childhood and beyond
o Abilities theorized to be affected
Relevant evidence/research to know









Valian’s summary of research on adult circulating hormone levels and
performance on visual-spatial tests
Confounds and ambiguities in research with CAH girls
Hines (2006) summary of research on prenatal testosterone as an explanation
for gender differences in cognitive abilities
o Research with CAH girls
o Testosterone in amniotic fluid
o What does Hines conclude about the link between prenatal
testosterone exposure and visual-spatial skills?
Contradictory studies cited in Fine—MORE WILL BE ADDED HERE
Research on girls with Turner’s Syndrome, criticisms
Research on sex differences in recovery of function after injury to primary
language areas of the brain, including Copenhagen study
Voyer (1996) meta-analysis of sex differences in lateralization
Sommer meta-analysis of sex differences in language lateralization (cited in
Fine)
Are there actually sex differences in the corpus callosum? What did one or two
early studies show? What does a meta-analysis show?












Why are spurious sex differences especially likely to be found in brain imaging
studies?
Does research support Simon Baron-Cohen’s suggestions about gender and a
spotlight/floodlight dichotomy?
UI study of sex differences in parietal lobe structure and sex differences in
visual-spatial skills—results and possible explanations for the results
Feng et al. (2007) study of action video games and spatial skills (Study 2)—type
of game played, effects on skills for males and females, type of skills affected,
how long did effects last?
Shih et al. (1999) study of stereotype threat and math performance—Study 1
participants, how stereotype threat was created, effects on performance, reasons
for study 2 & results
McGlone & Aronson study of stereotype threat and visual-spatial performance
Logel study of the effects of suppressing negative stereotypes (cited in Fine)
Sex differences in spatial location memory—what are the various ways this has
been tested in research? How can the test be changed to eliminate the sex
difference? What does that show about underlying cause of that sex difference?
Studies cited in Jussim & Fleming about self-fulfilling prophecy and sex
differences in reading
Study of giving boys a hand-held video game—effects on reading and writing
skills compared to control group, effects on math skills
Home studies of parents’ communication with boys vs. girls
Study on parents’ interactions with baby girls and relationship to later language
development
Terms















Spatial visualization, mental rotation, spatial attention
Spatial location memory
Embedded Figures Test
Rod and frame test
Androgens
Testosterone
Testosterone wash
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) / Androgenital syndrome (AGS) /
Congenital Virilizing Adrenal Hyperplasia (CVAH)
Turner’s Syndrome
Lateralization
Cerebral hemispheres
Corpus callosum
File-drawer phenomenon, especially as it applies to gender and neuroimaging
research
First-person shooter video game
Stereotype threat


Self-fulfilling prophecy
Understand how stereotype threat and self-fulfilling prophecy are different