When adult versions of tests of spatial ability were modified and administered to 94 boys and 99 girls in Norway, results indicated that spatial ability is a more unified trait in boys than in girls, in whom spatial abilities are more heterogeneously organized. (SLD)

Eighty boys and 80 girls ages 9 to 10 from elementary schools in Naples, Italy completed a spatial span test and a spatial serial-learning task. Corsi's block-tapping test was used in each. Males performed better in both cases; their superior performance on the spatial serial-learning task was independent of their superiority in the spatial-span…

Used two spatial and language tasks to investigate that clockwise directionality in circle drawing indicates neutral integration difficulties. Tasks were administered to 106 children, eight years of age. Data were analyzed for sex differences and circling behavior. None of the hypotheses based on Blau's theory was supported. (Author)

In 2 studies, subjects between 7 and 16 years of age indicated predictions for the water level in a tilted container or the position of a plumb line. Found that sex differences were evident at all ages; task performance improved with age according to a discrete stage process; and task performance was determined by field effects and rule strategy.…

This study reports on cultural and gender differences in the spatial abilities of children based on the Water Level Task. The Piagetian theory of age-related developmental differences in performance on the Water Level Task was explored with Chinese and Malay children living in Singapore. Results indicate that children in this study did not perform…

Investigated gender differences in adults' use of route strategy, examining how preferences for landmarks (female) against route directions (male) related to wayfinding behavior, spatial anxiety, and environmental competencies. Participants navigated routes in an unknown building three times and recalled acquired environmental knowledge. Most…

When 1,201 males and 1,145 females responded to a range of spatial questions, males significantly outperformed females on 25 of 72 occasions. On no occasion did females significantly outperform males. Wattanawaha's system for classifying spatial tasks was used to identify qualitative differences in performances of males and females. (Author/CM)

While only minor differences in behavioral organization and efficiency were found between males and females, girls with lower neurological status showed more signs of lack of motor inhibition. No effect was found for time-pressure for groups with a different neurological status. (MP)

Discusses the factors that seem to be significant in the development of visualization skills, and examines gender differences in background and visualization ability for students enrolled in United States, German, and Polish technical universities. Findings indicate significant differences in spatial visualization ability between male and female…

Sex differences in spatial ability were examined in 410 Israeli college students using standard tests of mental rotation. On related abilities tests, males performed better than females on a numerical skills test, and females performed better on an associative memory test. No significant sex differences were found on other ability tests. (SLD)

Three-dimensional visualization skills are critically important to success in engineering careers. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the 3-D spatial visualization skills of women engineering students lag significantly behind those of their male counterparts. This paper examines gender differences in background and in visualization ability for…

Using information contained in nine photographs, young children constructed a wooden pyramid. Control children were given the same task but no pictorial information. Children's performances were significantly better when pictorial information was available. Sex and age differences were noted regarding strategies used to complete the task.…

Investigated gender differences in the spatial abilities of mental rotation, spatial visualization, spatial perception, and relationships between spatial abilities and spatial activity participation in 161 Norwegian technology students and 293 social science students. Implications of results for occupational performance are discussed. (SLD)

This study investigated the development of abstract mathematical thought and spatial relations of 13- and 14-year-old students who attended public schools in Australia, Japan, and the United States. Dependent variables included age, ability grouping, ethnicity, sex, mathematics attitudes, and mathematics classroom behaviors. Significant…

A cross-cultural quantitative review of contemporary findings of gender differences in variability in verbal, mathematics, and spatial abilities finds that the well-established U.S. finding of considerably greater male variability in mathematical and spatial abilities is not invariant across countries and cultures. (SLD)