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Gay Men Navigate In A Similar Way To Women, Virtual Reality Researchers Find
Science Daily ^ | January 3, 2008

Posted on 01/03/2008 6:15:36 PM PST by Stoat

Gay Men Navigate In A Similar Way To Women, Virtual Reality Researchers Find

ScienceDaily (Jan. 3, 2008) — Gay men navigate in a similar way to women, according to a new study from researchers at Queen Mary, University of London.


 

Dr Qazi Rahman, from Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences used virtual reality scenarios to investigate if spatial learning and memory in humans can be linked to sexual orientation.

Differences in spatial learning and memory (our ability to record and recall information about our environment) are common between men and women. It has been shown that men consistently outperform women on tasks requiring navigation and discovering hidden objects; whereas women are more successful at tests which require them to remember where those objects lie in a particular space.

This is the first study to investigate if those differences are also true for gay, lesbian and straight individuals.

Dr Rahman used virtual reality stimulations of two common tests of spatial learning and memory, designed by researchers at Yale University. In the Morris Water Maze test (MWM), participants found themselves in a virtual pool and had to escape as quickly as possible using spatial clues in the virtual room to find a hidden platform. In the Radial Arm Maze test (RAM), participants had to traverse eight ‘arms’ from a circular junction to find hidden rewards. Four of the arms contained a reward, four did not.

Dr Rahman and his research assistant, Johanna Koerting, found that during the MWM test gay men and straight women took longer to find the hidden platform than did straight men.  However, both gay and straight men spent more of their “dwelling time” in the area where the hidden platform actually was, compared to straight and lesbian women. 

Dr Rahman explains: “Not only did straight men get started on the MWM test more quickly than gay men and the two female groups, they also maintained that advantage throughout the test. This might mean that sexual orientation affects the speed at which you acquire spatial information, but not necessarily your eventual memory for that spatial information. 

“In previous studies we have also found that gay men tend to use similar navigation strategies to women, like using land-marks, and we now want to explore whether navigation strategies on these virtual navigation tasks are also the same for gay men and women. In particular, we are interested in whether heterosexual men are using a unique strategy from their first attempt at traversing a new environment, which accounts for why they are so quick off the mark.”

The researchers also found that gay and straight men were similar in their performance on the Radial Arm Maze. “This suggests that sexual variation in spatial cognition is not straightforward – gay people appear to show a ‘mosaic’ of performance, parts of which are male-like and other parts which are female-like,” adds Rahman.

Dr Rahman also commented that it would be interesting to see if these sexual differences change with age. “We know that spatial ability declines more rapidly in men with age than in women, and this might be related to changing hormone profiles. This may have some relevance to sex differences in ageing-related diseases of cognitive functioning, such as dementia.

“If we can understand more about how people of different sexes and sexualities differ in spatial performance, we might be able to tailor cognitive remediation therapies more effectively to specific groups within an ageing population.”

This research was recently published in the journal Hippocampus.

Adapted from materials provided by Queen Mary, University of London.



TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: homosexual; homosexuals; science; virtualreality; women
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Related articles:

Women and gay men are 'worst drivers' - Telegraph

Driving somewhere new Take a heterosexual man - Times Online

Study claims gay men and straight women have poor sense of direction Straight men better at navigation The Sun HomePageNews

1 posted on 01/03/2008 6:15:39 PM PST by Stoat
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To: Stoat

“why don’t you pull over and ask for directions!”


2 posted on 01/03/2008 6:20:44 PM PST by spyone
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To: Stoat
men consistently outperform women on tasks requiring navigation and discovering hidden objects

Not in this house.

3 posted on 01/03/2008 6:23:12 PM PST by mtbopfuyn (I think the border is kind of an artificial barrier - San Antonio councilwoman Patti Radle)
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To: Stoat
men consistently outperform women on tasks requiring navigation and discovering hidden objects

That skill obviously comes from the experience of figuring out how to understand women.

4 posted on 01/03/2008 6:39:32 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (It takes a father to raise a child.)
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To: Stoat

Of course gay men have a poor sense of direction, that’s why they are always going in through the out door.


5 posted on 01/03/2008 6:41:17 PM PST by dfwgator (11+7+15=3 Heismans)
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To: Jeff Chandler

That skill obviously comes from the experience of figuring out how to understand women.


Sounds like an isometric exercise.


6 posted on 01/03/2008 6:41:43 PM PST by Grizzled Bear ("Does not play well with others.")
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To: Stoat
Opening ceremony of the National Gay Drivers Convention:


7 posted on 01/03/2008 6:46:46 PM PST by FormerACLUmember (When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.)
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To: Stoat

Do lesbians also navigate in a similar way to men?


8 posted on 01/03/2008 6:48:22 PM PST by paudio (Rose: I loath and despise money! Father: You also spend it!)
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To: Stoat
Makes sense to me.

Women navigate by retail outlets.

"Left at Target, right at Starbucks, across from the PetsMart".

I've attracted many a vicious stare by asking for the address or the cross streets.

9 posted on 01/03/2008 6:54:46 PM PST by elkfersupper
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To: FormerACLUmember

where the heck was that?


10 posted on 01/03/2008 7:14:52 PM PST by RDTF
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To: spyone
I have a theory about why men don't like to ask for directions (other than the fact that we're never actually lost ;-) ). It's about survival in a hostile world. Only strangers ask for directions -- throughout most of human development, strangers were either: driven off; robbed; killed; or enslaved (or some combination). We learned it doesn't pay to ask for directions. Much safer to just stay in the car.
11 posted on 01/03/2008 7:16:12 PM PST by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: paudio
Do lesbians also navigate in a similar way to men?

Apparently not.  From the posted article:

"Dr Rahman explains: “Not only did straight men get started on the MWM test more quickly than gay men and the two female groups, they also maintained that advantage throughout the test. "

12 posted on 01/03/2008 8:01:29 PM PST by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2012: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: Stoat
Gay men navigate in a similar way to women, according to a new study from researchers at Queen Mary, University of London.

They start by looking for the shoe aisle?

13 posted on 01/03/2008 8:06:56 PM PST by RansomOttawa (tm)
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To: Stoat

Does this article imply women rear-end people all the time?


14 posted on 01/03/2008 8:07:49 PM PST by Nachoman (My guns and my ammo, they comfort me.)
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To: elkfersupper
Women navigate by retail outlets.

Yep, want to give a woman directions in an urban area? Just describe a location by it's proximity to shopping malls. I would expect gay guys to be able to navigate by the locations of Crate and Barrel stores...

15 posted on 01/03/2008 8:11:16 PM PST by hunter112 (Hillary Clinton - America’s Ex-Wife®)
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To: elkfersupper
Women navigate by retail outlets.

Exactly.

16 posted on 01/03/2008 8:12:44 PM PST by wideminded
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To: dfwgator

LOL!!!


17 posted on 01/03/2008 8:13:33 PM PST by Jagdgewehr (Hunter '08)
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To: RDTF

These disasters are almost always in Interstate 5 in California after a fog patch in the AM commute.


18 posted on 01/03/2008 9:11:21 PM PST by FormerACLUmember (When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.)
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA
I have a theory about why men don't like to ask for directions (other than the fact that we're never actually lost ;-) ). It's about survival in a hostile world.

Considering women are far more vulnerable to physical violence, this would suggest that women would be far *less* likely to ask for directions.

19 posted on 01/03/2008 11:59:34 PM PST by Dumb_Ox (http://kevinjjones.blogspot.com)
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To: Dumb_Ox
Good point. I left out an important part of my theory. When people were hunter-gatherers, men did most of the traveling to strange lands, while women tended the home fires. Women didn’t go on raiding parties — but, they were often the victim of them, right in their own back yard. Given conditions in parts of some cities today, probably no one should ask for directions.
20 posted on 01/04/2008 12:23:15 AM PST by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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