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Psychology 320: Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences

Lecture 28

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Scoring Your Questionnaire

1. Reverse score items 4, 5, 10, 18, and 19:

If you selected 5 for the item, change your score on that item to 1.

If you selected 4 for the item, change your score on that item to 2.

If you selected 3 for the item, do not change your score.

If you selected 2 for the item, change your score on that item to 4.

If you selected 1 for the item, change your score on that item to 5.

2. Sum scores across 20 items.

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Office Hour InvitationsNovember 27th, 1:30-2:30, Kenny 2517

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Cognitive Abilities and Emotion

2. Are there sex differences in emotional experience?

1. Do females and males differ in their cognitive abilities?

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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

1. discuss sex similarities and differences in: mathematical ability and spatial ability.

2. identify the ages at which sex differences in mathematical ability and spatial ability emerge.

3. identify trends across time in the magnitude of sexdifferences in mathematical ability and spatial ability.

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4. identify universal emotions.

5. discuss sex differences in reported experiences of positive and negative emotions.

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Confidence in and identification with mathematics: M > F.

Research on mathematical ability (continued):

Do females and males differ in their cognitive abilities? (continued)

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Sex differences in mathematical ability increase across age groups, but are decreasing across time.

Meta-analyses: ds for overall mathematical ability range from +.00 to +.16.

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Research on spatial ability:

Wechsler’s performance intelligence scale: M > F.

Spatial perception: M > F.

Mental rotation: M > F.

Spatial visualization: M > F.

Spatiotemporal ability: M > F.

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Maps: F and M read and interpret maps differently.

Spatial location memory: F > M.

Perceptual speed: F > M.

11Spatial Perception

Rod and Frame Test

Water Level Problem

12Mental Rotation

13Spatial Visualization

Embedded FiguresPaper Folding

Embedded Figures

14Spatiotemporal Ability

15Spatial Location Memory

16Perceptual Speed

17Maps

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Sex differences in spatial ability increase across age groups, but appear to be decreasing across time.

Meta-analyses: ds for overall spatial ability range from +.13 to +.25.

Hyde (1981, 2005) maintains that sex accounts for less than 5% of variance in spatial ability.

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• “Comprehensive” assessments of sex differences in cognitive abilities and cross-cultural assessments of sex differences in cognitive abilities are consistent with the research findings noted thus far:

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Grade 12 Profile: Gender Difference and Similarity for 15 Types of Tests (Cole, 1997)

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Are there sex differences in emotional experience?

Joan and John have just learned that their neighbor was in a car accident and lost her baby. One cries; the other does not.

Brenda and Mark have just witnessed two teenagers vandalize their car. One yells at the teenagers and chases them down the street; the other ignores the incident.

• Picture the following:

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• Ekman (1992) maintains that there are universal emotions (i.e., basic emotions) that generalize across

sexes and cultures: happiness, surprise, fear, sadness, anger, and disgust.

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Ekman and Friesen’s (1971) Universal Emotions

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• Nevertheless, some research suggests that females and males differ in the frequency and intensity with which they experience these and related emotions:

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Simon and Nath (2004)

Asked respondents how many days in the previous week they experienced diverse emotions.

Found sex differences in the frequency with which positive and negative emotions were experienced. Social status (e.g., income level) and parental involvement accounted for the sex differences.

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Mean Emotional Frequency Scores for Females and Males (Simon & Nath, 2004)

Females Males p

All feelings 45.10 45.10 ns

Positive feelings 25.56 28.30 <.005

Negative feelings 18.55 16.80 <.05

Calm feelings 13.35 14.01 <.05

Excitement 13.20 14.29 <.005

Anxiety 8.13 7.22 .01

Sadness 4.74 3.73 <.001

Anger 4.66 4.75 ns

Shame 1.02 1.11 ns

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Cognitive Abilities and Emotion

2. Are there sex differences in emotional experience?

1. Do females and males differ in their cognitive abilities?