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COGNITIVE DIFFERENCES:Gender Differences in I.Q, Gender and Verbal Ability

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Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512)
VU
Lesson 21
COGNITIVE DIFFERENCES
It is stereotypically believed that men and women are intellectually very different. Men are thought to be more
intelligent, and capable of wise and quick decision making. Women, it is thought, are overwhelmed by their
emotion, rather than logic or intellect. Even when a man and a woman have the same I.Q level, the man is
considered to be more reliable for entrusting a job involving responsibility. Empirical research findings,
however, do not indicate the existence of any significant gender differences in terms of intelligence and
cognitive ability. Some gender differences have been noted in certain cognitive areas, but there seem to be no
true differences in the overall performance or ability (Hedges, and Nowell, 1995). In one analysis (Hedges, and
Nowell, 1995), the performance of male and female teenagers on tests of mental ability over the past 30 years
was investigated. The analysis yielded very minute `average difference'. But in case of some tests the member of
boys performing very high or very poor was disproportionately large. In case of science tests the number of
boys scoring in the top 5 percent was seven times more than that of the girls who scored that high. On math
tests twice as many boys than girls scored in the top 5 percent.
In tests of perceptual speed and reading comprehension, boys were much more likely than girls to score the
lower on the test of writing skills. A significantly little change was seen between the findings of 1960, 1992, the
years when testing session used in the study were held.
Gender Differences in I.Q
There is no strong evidence suggesting any real gender difference in I.Q scores. There are only very few studies
that showed gender differences in I.Q scores, the differences indicated by these researches are pretty small.
However these small differences have become even smaller in the recent past (Aiken, 1984; Halpern, 1986;
Hyde et. al., 1990; Maccoby and Jacklin, 1974). Females have generally been found to be out performing males
in verbal skills, whereas males have been noted to be performing better on tasks involving spatial ability, or
mathematical ability. In one of the earlier studies, Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) reported that boys possessed
superior quantitative and spatial abilities; however they were out performed by girls in verbal abilities. This
evidence strengthens the stereotypically held views about gender differences in cognitive abilities. However the
later and more recent research, that casts doubts on the research suggesting cognitive and gender differences.
In this regard the meta analysis done by Hyde and associates (1990) has yielded significant findings based upon
sophisticated analysis of 100 studies. This analysis covered the testing of a total of 3, 175, 188 participants in all
(Gerow, 1997). The meta analysis showed that `on average' males and females are not much different in terms
of their mathematical performance. In elementary, and middle school females were slightly better than males in
computational skills. At high school, or college level males did slightly better than females in mathematical
problem solving; this was seen particularly in case of the tests of advanced mathematics. When all age groups
were considered, the differences were almost insignificant (Hyde, Fennema, and Lamon, 1990). Research shows
that the stereotypically perceived gender differences in mathematical performance are pretty insignificant, and
in fact moving towards a decline (Stumpf, 1995; Bellas, and Gafni, 1996; Benbow, Lubinski, and Hyde, 1997).
However no matter how small the gender differences in mathematical ability may be, they are generally skewed
in favor of males. There are no or very little differences at elementary level, but in case of teenagers the average
achievement of boys is higher than that of girls. Some research has shown that more boys than girls are gifted
in mathematics. Majority of high schoolers are usually boys, the boys-to-girls ratio being 4-to-1, as yielded by
one North American study (Benbow, and Lubinski, 1996). There are various explanations for this edge on part
of boys. A positive relationship between spatial ability and math achievement is thought to be one of the
contributing variables. It has been seen that males' scores in various measures of visual-spatial ability, beginning
from grade school years, are higher than those of females (Voyer, Voyer, and Bryden, 1995). Boys at around
ten years of age begin to show better spatial ability than girls. Spatial ability contributes to a good grasp of
geometry; therefore a better spatial ability contributes a better understanding of geometry, which in turn leads
to a great part of gender difference in math achievement (Johnson, and Mead, 1987). One plausible explanation
of this difference is the social learning explanation; math in most societies is not considered to be a girls' thing.
It is taken to be something dry and hard, therefore an apt choice for males. Research also suggests that
educational experiences of students can also be a possible cause of gender differences in average math
performance and ability. Some studies have shown a correlation between mathematical skills test scores, and
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Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512)
VU
the number and type of math classes taken in high school (Kimball, 1989; Welch et al., 1982). As compared to
females, males get enrolled in more advanced math courses, which in turn can be one of the major causal
factors in gender differences in math.
Gender and Verbal Ability
Similar trends are found in terms of verbal ability, but in favor of the females. Females, in all age groups exhibit
better verbal ability and skills than males on average. Female children start speaking a little earlier than boys do;
in their school years, girls have better reading scores and high vocabularies (Halpern, 1997). Literature review
done by a number of researchers indicates that females have an advantage, over males, in performance over
verbal tasks. In terms of acquisition of language girls exhibit an advantage in their rapidity and proficiency in
comparison to boys. This trend is maintained all the way through elementary school years (Halpern, 1994,
1997, 2000; Maccoby, and Jacklin, 1974).
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION:Common misconception, Some questions to ponder
  2. FEMINIST MOVEMENT:Forms or Varieties of Feminism, First wave feminists
  3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:Functionalism, Psychoanalytic Psychology:
  4. Gender- related Research:Andocentricity, Overgeneralizing, Gender Blindness
  5. RESEARCH METHODS FOR GENDER ISSUES:The Procedure of Content Analysis
  6. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:Limitations Of Quantitative Research
  7. BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GENDERSHormones and Chromosomes
  8. BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GENDERS: HORMONES AND NERVOUS SYSTEM
  9. THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT:The Biological Approach,
  10. THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT (2):The Behavioral Approach
  11. THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT (3):The Cognitive Approach
  12. THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT (3):Psychoanalytic Feminism
  13. OTHER APPROACHES:The Humanistic Approach, Cultural Influences
  14. GENDER TYPING AND STEREOTYPING:Development of sex-typing
  15. GENDER STEREOTYPES:Some commonly held Gender Stereotypes
  16. Developmental Stages of Gender Stereotypes:Psychoanalytic Approach, Hostile sexism
  17. CULTURAL INFLUENCE & GENDER ROLES:Arapesh, Mundugumor
  18. DEVELOPMENT OF GENDER ROLE IDENTIFICATION:Gender Role Preference
  19. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PERSONALITY:GENDER DIFFERENCES IN BULLYING
  20. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PERSONALITY:GENDER, AFFILIATION AND FRIENDSHIP
  21. COGNITIVE DIFFERENCES:Gender Differences in I.Q, Gender and Verbal Ability
  22. GENDER AND MEDIA:Print Media and Portrayal of Genders
  23. GENDER AND EMOTION:The components of Emotions
  24. GENDER, EMOTION, & MOTIVATION:Affiliation, Love, Jealousy
  25. GENDER AND EDUCATION:Impact of Educational Deprivation
  26. GENDER, WORK AND WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT:Informal Work
  27. GENDER, WORK AND WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT (2):Glass-Ceiling Effect
  28. GENDER, WORK & RELATED ISSUES:Sexual Harassment at Workplace
  29. GENDER AND VIOLENCE:Domestic Violence, Patriarchal terrorism
  30. GENDER AND HEALTH:The Significance of Women’s Health
  31. GENDER, HEALTH, AND AGING:Genetic Protection, Behavioral Factors
  32. GENDER, HEALTH, AND AGING:Physiological /Biological Effects, Changes in Appearance
  33. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AGING:Marriage and Loneliness, Empty Nest Syndrome
  34. GENDER AND HEALTH PROMOTING BEHAVIORS:Fitness and Exercise
  35. GENDER AND HEALTH PROMOTING BEHAVIOR:The Classic Alameda County Study
  36. GENDER AND HEART DISEASE:Angina Pectoris, The Risk factors in CHD
  37. GENDER AND CANCER:The Trend of Mortality Rates from Cancer
  38. GENDER AND HIV/AIDS:Symptoms of AIDS, Mode of Transmission
  39. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH FEMALES’ REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
  40. OBESITY AND WEIGHT CONTROL:Consequences of Obesity, Eating Disorders
  41. GENDER AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY:Gender, Stress and Coping
  42. GENDER AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY:The Diagnostic Criteria
  43. GENDER AND PSYCHOTHERAPY:Traditional Versus Feminist Theory
  44. FEMINIST THERAPY:Changes targeted at societal level
  45. COURSE REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF NEW AVENUES FOR RESEARCH IN GENDER ISSUES