Spatial anxiety and self-confidence mediate sex/gender differences in mental rotation.

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q4 NEUROSCIENCES

Learning & memory Pub Date : 2022-09-02 Print Date: 2022-09-01 DOI:10.1101/lm.053596.122

Linda Arrighi, Markus Hausmann

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引用次数: 2

Abstract

A recent meta-synthesis study with a sample of >12 million participants revealed that the male advantage in mental rotation (MR) is the largest cognitive sex/gender difference found in psychological literature. MR requires test takers to mentally rotate three-dimensional cubic figures under time restrictions. Previous studies have investigated how biological and social factors contribute to cognitive sex/gender differences in tasks of this type. Spatial anxiety and self-confidence in MR tasks have received less attention. The present study investigated the contribution of these psychological factors to sex/gender differences in MR performance. Participants (n = 269) completed two MR tasks that differed in task difficulty. Participants also indicated their self-confidence (for each item) and spatial anxiety. The results revealed that pronounced sex/gender differences in spatial anxiety and self-confidence mediate sex/gender in MR performance, especially when task demands are high. The current findings suggest that task-irrelevant factors that are not spatial cognitive in nature contribute largely to the well-known medium to large sex/gender differences in MR. Future studies should further explore mechanisms underlying cognitive sex/gender differences within a biopsychosocial approach.

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空间焦虑和自信介导了心理旋转的性别差异。

最近的一项荟萃综合研究显示，男性在心理旋转(MR)方面的优势是心理学文献中发现的最大的认知性别差异。MR要求测试者在时间限制下在心里旋转三维立体图形。以前的研究已经调查了生物和社会因素如何影响这类任务的认知性别差异。空间焦虑和自信在MR任务中的作用较少。本研究调查了这些心理因素对磁共振表现性别差异的影响。参与者(n = 269)完成了两个任务难度不同的MR任务。参与者还表明了他们的自信心(对于每个项目)和空间焦虑。结果表明，空间焦虑和自信的显著性别差异介导了MR表现的性别差异，尤其是在任务要求高的情况下。目前的研究结果表明，非空间认知性质的任务无关因素在很大程度上促成了mr中至大的性别/性别差异，未来的研究应进一步从生物心理社会学的角度探索认知性别/性别差异的机制。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Learning & memory 医学-神经科学

CiteScore

3.60

自引率

5.00%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： The neurobiology of learning and memory is entering a new interdisciplinary era. Advances in neuropsychology have identified regions of brain tissue that are critical for certain types of function. Electrophysiological techniques have revealed behavioral correlates of neuronal activity. Studies of synaptic plasticity suggest that some mechanisms of memory formation may resemble those of neural development. And molecular approaches have identified genes with patterns of expression that influence behavior. It is clear that future progress depends on interdisciplinary investigations. The current literature of learning and memory is large but fragmented. Until now, there has been no single journal devoted to this area of study and no dominant journal that demands attention by serious workers in the area, regardless of specialty. Learning & Memory provides a forum for these investigations in the form of research papers and review articles.