Do the sex differences play such an important role in explaining performance in spatial tasks?

Abstract

The largest average sex differences in cognitive performance derives from spatial tasks (Voyer, Voyer, & Bryden, 1995). Analyses performed to date have not been able to satisfactorily explain this difference in performance. Frequently, the “sex” variable is considered a causal factor. However, “sex” is a broad category that entails so many confounding factors that it is nearly impossible to consider it as a causal factor. It would be more appropriate to consider the “sex” variable like a construct that requires the analysis of the test’s cognitive requirements. This research is aimed at explaining sex differences in spatial task performance in terms of sex differences in lower-level cognitive processes. In the task at hand (SODT, Spatial Orientation Dynamic Test) we identified three processes that can be evaluated independently: Mental Rotation (MR), Spatial Orientation (SO), and Time Management (TM). The correlation between these processes was relatively low (.16 < r < .36). Together, the three variables explain a significant portion of the variance in performance (R2 = 0.871). The variable Gender, surprisingly, did not increase the percentage of explained variance. The results are discussed in relation to the objective of identifying the psychological variables that account for differences in spatial tasks due to sex of the sample.