Sex differences in cognitive abilities: a cross-cultural perspective.
Studies in Western cultures have indicated significant sex differences in certain cognitive abilities. To determine whether similar differences occur in a non-Western culture, this study administered a cross-linguistic battery of tests to high school students in Japan and America. In both cultures, girls averaged significantly higher scores on a Story Recall test, the Digit-Symbol test and a Word Fluency test whereas boys achieved significantly higher scores on a Mental Rotation test. The analysis of standardized test scores further indicated that the size of the sex difference was culture-independent in three out of these four cases. These results are discussed in the context of the GESCHWIND and GALABURDA [Cerebral Lateralization, Biological Mechanisms, Associations and Pathology, Bradford Books, Cambridge, Massachusetts] account of the contribution of testosterone to left-right asymmetries in early cerebral development.
Mann
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Department of Cognitive Sciences, School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine 92651.
Sasanuma
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Sakuma
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Masaki
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D000293:Adolescent; D001076:Aptitude; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009949:Orientation; D014888:Wechsler Scales; D014936:Word Association Tests