Baby boys may show spatial supremacy
Posted on 11/27/2008 7:53:13 PM PST by neverdem
Male superiority on mental rotation tasks may develop within a few months after birth
The gender gap in spatial abilities — charted for more than 30 years — emerges within the first few months of life, years earlier than previously thought, psychologists report.
Males typically outperform females on spatial-ability tests by age 4, especially on tasks that require mental rotation of objects perceived as three-dimensional. Yet,
two studies of 3- to 5-month-olds, both published in the November Psychological Science, conclude that a substantially greater proportion of boys than girls distinguish a block arrangement from its mirror image, after having first seen the block arrangement rotated. Babies who prefer looking at the mirror image are presumed to have mentally rotated the block arrangement, recognized it and chosen to gaze at the novel mirror image.
One investigation was conducted by David Moore of Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., and Scott Johnson of the University of California, Los Angeles. The other was directed by Paul Quinn of the University of Delaware in Newark and Lynn Liben of Pennsylvania State University in University Park.
Both sets of researchers suspect that sex differences in mental rotation develop shortly after birth due to an unknown mix of genetic, biological and environmental influences.
“The result we found was really somewhat of a shocker,” Moore says. He had expected to demonstrate no sex difference in infants’ mental rotation skills, laying the groundwork for pinpointing the age at which this spatial gap first appears.
“Simultaneous reports by two different labs using two different techniques are difficult to dismiss,” remarks psychologist Nora Newcombe of Temple University in Philadelphia.
Still, the new reports don’t confirm that baby boys perform mental rotation tasks better than baby girls do, comments psychologist Susan Levine of the University of Chicago...
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencenews.org ...
Yawn...................
Spatial supremacy? I bet they don’t let their tool bag drift off...
Psychobabble.............
Oops, wrong space. nevermind.
LOL
Men hunt. They look for movement.
(PS--Larry Summers was right.)
Is there something in the water in Chicago?
I mean, Obama seems to be denying a clear reality in much the same way as this (ahem...) doctor.
Until they get a little older and can’t seem to discern the spatial make up of the toilet seat and hole. ;)
This needed to be posted before dinner. At first read I thought that they were saying that baby boys could spit better.
Repair Of Injured Heart Muscle Achieved In Lab Tests Of Stem Cells
“The Photon Force is with us”: Harnessing Light to Drive Nanomachines
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list. FReepmail me, a shameless, male, chauvanist pig, if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
Nope. Real difference. Probably the cognitive basis for the predominance of males in engineering, for one thing. Simple every day experience for another: try giving directions to a woman by saying go east three miles and turn south on Route 21. They usually will stare at you blankly. You're better off telling them to go straight ahead to the corner with the BP station and then turn right at the light.
Well, that explains all those little dents and scratches on my front bumper.
“(PS—Larry Summers was right.)”
Sexist, Nazi, Racist, Hitler!
I thought he was too tentative.
This sort of ability likely can be improved with the right sort of practice exercises...so not so big a deal.
Anyhoo, if this and a slightly increased ability to deal with math are the big differences I’d say that the girls wondrous ability to give birth more than balances the scales :-)
I have always had strong visual imagery skills. I can easily see 3d images of objects and rotate them about. While seeing such imaginary images the visual field can blank out for just a couple of seconds... I think many people do this, it is a bit worrying while driving and so I have to concentrate strongly on the road and not daydream for if I do eyesight blanks out...not good.
I have always been in awe of people with photographic memories, I have a very limited form of it that allows me to generally see the location on the printed page where a specific statement is located... I always skim through books looking quickly only at that spot on the left or right page till I find the info.
But I have an infuriating lack of talent for spelling things aloud, the only way I can do it is to see the word as text suspended in the air and then simply read the letters out one by one. A very roundabout way of doing something so simple.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.