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Males and females differ in several cognitive abilities, although the largest gap can be found in spatial ability. Some published studies make the claim that performance factors, which can be either subject- or task-related variables, explain these differences. However, previous studies in which performance factors were measured have focused on static spatial tests. Little is known about the role of performance factors in dynamic spatial tasks. In the present study, we analyzed a sample of 2,624 university graduates to test the role of three performance facto's (response latency, response frequency, and invested time) derived from the Spatial Orientation Dynamic Test-Revised (SODT-R; Santacreu, 1999). The results showed that males and females appear to cope with the dynamic task in different ways. However, males outperformed females even when the effects of the performance facto's were partialed out; that is, the assessed performance facto's did not explain much of the sex-related variance. Alternative ways of measuring performance facto's will be needed if they are to explain sex differences in dynamic spatial ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several mete-analyses have shown that males outperform females in overall spatial ability, while females outperform males in some verbal ability tests, but not in others. The present article measures sex differences in two computerized tests, one thought to reflect verbal reasoning and one thought to reflect dynamic spatial performance. The sample comprised 1,593 university graduates (794 females end 799 males). Results show that males outperform females in both tests. However, sex differences in verbal reasoning turn to be nonsignificant when sex differences in dynamic spatial performance are statistically removed. The finding is interpreted from the previously demonstrated fact that the verbal reasoning test requires spatial processing. The result raises doubts about the common practice of evaluating sex differences in cognitive abilities from the tests' superficial characteristics or information content. The interpretation of the observed findings strongly requires the analysis of the tests' cognitive requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The largest average sex differences in cognitive performance derives from spatial tasks (). 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 (R 2 =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. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Spatial ability implies the generation, retention, retrieval, and transformation of visuo-spatial information. Factor analytic research has identified a broad array of spatial factors. Visualization (Vz) and Spatial relations (SR) are among the most cited. Dynamic spatial performance (DSP) has emerged in more recent times as a new strong candidate. However, there are some doubts about the existence of clear separate spatial factors. On the one hand, general spatial ability (Gv) has a substantial overlap with fluid reasoning (Gf). On the other hand, as Carroll''s [Carroll, J. B. (1993). Human cognitive abilities: a survey of factor analytic studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press] survey notes, procedures of measurement are in need of considerable refinement. A battery of Vz, SR, and DSP spatial tests was applied in the present study to a sample of 105 undergraduates. The correlation matrix is analysed through a Schmid–Leiman hierarchical factor analysis, resulting in a powerful higher-order factor identified with Gv. First-order factors are shown as psychologically meaningless. Moreover, a confirmatory factor analysis demonstrates that a single endogenous factor, identified with Gv, predicts fairly well all the spatial markers. The correlation between the subjects'' Gv factor scores and their scores in the Cattell''s Culture Fair test shows a value of +0.6. Therefore, the study suggests that there is no clear separation among markers of some core spatial factors and that Gv strongly correlates with fluid ability (Gf). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]