title: Experiential factors in sex differences on mental rotation.
abstract: Past research has shown that men score significantly higher than women on mental rotation tests. The present study examined the effects of a prior exposure to a mental rotation task, i.e., adapted Cube Comparison test, and to three-dimensional objects, i.e., Legos, on the performance on the Mental Rotation Test. 113 men and women were randomly divided into three conditions: control, exposure, or detailed instructions. On average, men outperformed women. Further analyses showed that sex differences were significant in the control condition but not in the other two, suggesting that a cuing effect may explain some of the robust sex differences in visuospatial tasks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68154, USA. cherneyi@creighton.edu
authors.forename: Isabelle D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Cherney
authors.forename: Kavita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jagarlamudi
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shimabuku
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D012399:Rotation; D012737:Sex Factors; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology