Sex pencil-and-paper spatial tests were administered to 232 boys and 237 girls with an average age of 10 years. Results suggest that sex differences in spatial ability may emerge before adolescence, but they are not necessarily generalized at that time. (Author/RH)

Accuracy of pattern copying was studied in male and female 10-year-olds. Contrary to expectations, independent of the stimulus size, males benefited from spatial response cues whereas females did not. (Author/DB)

Investigates the possibility of self-selection in females entering the field of engineering and examines the link between mental rotation performance and performance in academic subjects for 51 male and 52 female students. Results indicate that there were sex differences favoring males in spatial ability tests but there were no significant…

Examined whether variations in performance of (n=396) engineering students on a measure of spatial visualization were related to prior spatial experiences and to the developmental period when the prior experiences occurred. One finding revealed nonacademic activities seemed to have the most positive significant relationship to spatial…

Two studies tested college students on the Piagetian water-level task and several crossbar tasks. Performance on a disembedded crossbar task was better than that on the water-level task, regardless of whether the symmetrical nature of the crossbar was emphasized. Men performed better than women. (BC)

Sixteen intermediate level hearing-impaired students were examined on perceptions that still water remains invariantly horizontal regardless of container tilt. Similar to findings reported for older hearing-impaired students, Ss made more errors with the straight-sided than with the curve-sided containers. Males performed better than females on…

This study used a variation of Piaget and Inhelder's water level task and several cognitive complexity measures to test the predictions that cognitive complexity would relate positively to performance of the water level task and that males would perform better. The predictions were confirmed. Correlations for males and females differed.…

Studied the effects of peer collaboration on the acquisition of the understanding that water remains invariantly horizontal. Results from 69 female and 22 male college students show that peer collaboration did not lead to greater understanding than working alone, but that men and women talked about the problem differently and that the use of…

Data from a battery of spatial tests taken by children six to 18 years old indicate that a male advantage in spatial performance appears reliably by age 10, and that the magnitude of the advantage remains constant through age 18. (PCB)

This Study was conducted to determine if women in the sciences were as accurate in spatial abilities as male counterparts. An experiment was also conducted to find if an intervention would improve the visuo-spatial awareness of women as rapidly as men. Data indicated that while women tended to start at a lower level, they were able to learn…

Results suggest that (1) sex differences are found for some types of spatial ability but not others; (2) large sex differences are found only on measures of mental rotation; (3) smaller sex differences are found on measures of spatial perception; and (4) when sex differences are found, they can be detected across the life span. (Author/RH)

Gender differences on horizontality and verticality tasks were examined to determine whether they are mediated by gender differences in expectancies for success. Gender differences in performance were found, with males performing better than females. Gender differences in expectancies for success did not fully account for gender differences in…

Erickson's 1951 study of gender differences in preadolescents' play construction was replicated and expanded to correct for sex bias of materials. Erickson's finding of innate biological differences in the experience and perception of space was not confirmed. Instead, differences were attributed to the materials provided. (KH)

When reference cues are added to a pattern copying task, males' performance improves, but females' remains the same. This superior cue utilization may partially explain differences in spatial abilities. The present research attempts to determine the optimum locus for facilitation of copying by reference cues. (RH)

Plomin and Foch's conclusion that sex differences in cognition account for very little of the total variability in test scores is challenged by demonstrating that on a complex test of spatial visualization the difference between males and females accounts for a quite substantial portion of variability. (Author)