Sex-related differences in spatial ability: more evidence for convergence.
Sex-related differences in spatial ability, favoring males, have frequently been reported in the literature. Recent analyses, however, have found indications of a convergence in the scores of men and women on spatial tests over the years. This research examined the evidence for such a secular trend in a German population using data of 18 samples that had completed the Cube Perspectives Test, a measure of spatial visualization ability. The largest effect size (d = .77) was found for a sample tested in 1978, the smallest difference (d = .38) was observed for a sample tested in 1987. There was a clear trend narrowing the sex-related differences; the correlation between the recency of the data and the respective d-value was -.926. The convergence of the scores of men and women proved to be stronger than in the previous studies.
Stumpf
H
H
Institute for Test Development and Talent Research, Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany.
Klieme
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E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003867:Depth Perception; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D013028:Space Perception