Sex Differences in Intelligence: Implications for Education

Sex differences in intelligence is among the most politically volatile topics in contemporary psychology. Although no single finding has unanimous support, conclusions from multiple studies suggest that females, on average, score higher on tasks that require rapid access to and use of phonological a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American psychologist 1997-10, Vol.52 (10), p.1091-1102
Main Author: Halpern, Diane F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Animals
Biopsychosocial Approach
Child
Child, Preschool
Cognitive Ability
Education
Elementary Secondary Education
Evolutionary psychology
Female
Gender
Genetics
Hormones
Human
Human Sex Differences
Humans
Infant
Intelligence
Intelligence Tests
Learning Disorders - diagnosis
Learning Disorders - etiology
Male
Nature Nurture Controversy
Psychobiology
Psychology
Sex
Sex Characteristics
Sex Differences
Sex differentiation
Sex Stereotypes
Sexes
Social Learning Theory
Standardized Tests
Stanford-Binet Test
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Summary:Sex differences in intelligence is among the most politically volatile topics in contemporary psychology. Although no single finding has unanimous support, conclusions from multiple studies suggest that females, on average, score higher on tasks that require rapid access to and use of phonological and semantic information in long-term memory, production and comprehension of complex prose, fine motor skills, and perceptual speed. Males, on average, score higher on tasks that require transformations in visual-spatial working memory, motor skills involved in aiming, spatiotemporal responding, and fluid reasoning, especially in abstract mathematical and scientific domains. Males, however, are also overrepresented in the low-ability end of several distributions, including mental retardation, attention disorders, dyslexia, stuttering, and delayed speech. A psychobiosocial model that is based on the inextricable links between the biological bases of intelligence and environmental events is proposed as an alternative to nature-nurture dichotomies. Societal implications and applications to teaching and learning are suggested.
ISSN:0003-066X
1935-990X
DOI:10.1037/0003-066X.52.10.1091