Occupational choice and patterns of cognitive abilities

Previous studies by Govier and colleagues have shown dichotic listening performance to be related to occupation. The results of these studies were interpreted as supporting the view that both occupational choice and dichotic listening asymmetries depend upon biologically determined aspects of brain organization. The present study sought to test further the link between occupation and cognition by investigating the patterns of spatial and verbal abilities in males and females in male-dominated occupations and males and females in female-dominated occupations. It was hypothesized that occupational choice would be a salient marker for within-sex variation on cognitive tasks previously shown to differentiate performance in men and women. The results supported the hypothesis, and are interpreted as strengthening the view that occupational choice is, at least in part, a function of an individual's cognitive organization.