There Is More to Aptitude Than Cognitive Capacities.

The article comments on the paper "Sex Differences in Intrinsic Aptitude for Mathematics and Science? A Critical Review," by E. S. Spelke. Spelke ignored affective dimensions such as preferences, motives and attitudes and to focus exclusively on cognitive capacities. Spelke also neglected another important factor, that is, aptitude is relative to the level of task demands. A more unproductive approach is to identify what might constitute inaptitude for mathematical or scientific ways of thinking and when such inaptitude emerges in females, what instructional strategies may remedy the condition.