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), 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.
Collaer
Marcia L
ML
Department of Psychology, Middlebury College, VT 05753, USA. collaer@middlebury.edu
Nelson
Joshua D
JD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*