Large Visuospatial Sex Difference in Line Judgment: Possible Role of Attentional Factors

This article describes a large sex difference on a new, group-administered visuospatial task, the Judgment of Line Angle and Position (JLAP) test, and investigates the role of attentional factors in the difference. On the JLAP, adapted from a neuropsychological task (Benton et al., 1983), participan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brain and cognition 2002-06, Vol.49 (1), p.1-12
Main Authors: Collaer, Marcia L., Nelson, Joshua D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Attention
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Cognition. Intelligence
cognitive
Discrimination (Psychology)
Euclidian
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
gender
geometry
Humans
Intellectual and cognitive abilities
Judgment
Key Words: visuospatial
landmarks
line orientation
Male
Neuropsychological Tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reaction Time
Reproducibility of Results
sex
Sex Factors
Space Perception - physiology
spatial
Visual Perception - physiology
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Summary:This article describes a large sex difference on a new, group-administered visuospatial task, the Judgment of Line Angle and Position (JLAP) test, and investigates the role of attentional factors in the difference. On the JLAP, adapted from a neuropsychological task (Benton et al., 1983), participants evaluate spatial attributes of lines. Study 1: College males (N = 48) outperformed females (N = 80), resulting in a large effect for sex (d = 0.85). Errors were more common on oblique (vs horizontal or vertical) lines, especially for females. Study 2: Task attributes were manipulated (N = 33 males and 36 females) to study the role of attentional factors. Findings suggest that males are more likely than females to normally attend to and be aided by geometrical reference cues.
ISSN:0278-2626
1090-2147
DOI:10.1006/brcg.2001.1321