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Development of sex differences in spatial memory.
1Department of Social Sciences, Brescia College, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. abarnfie@julian.uwo.ca
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|November 2, 1999
Summary
Females may develop superior object location memory in adulthood. This spatial ability shows sex differences emerging later in life, not during childhood or early adolescence.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Males generally outperform females in spatial abilities.
- Previous research indicates females excel in object location recall tasks.
- The developmental trajectory of this sex difference is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the age at which sex differences in object location recall emerge.
- To examine developmental changes in spatial memory across childhood and adolescence.
- To determine if adult sex differences in object location memory are present in younger age groups.
Main Methods:
- Object recall was assessed using arrays of common object drawings.
- Participants included 80 adults (mean age 21) and 139 children across three age groups (4 years, 10-11 years, 15-16 years).
- Statistical analyses compared recall performance between males and females within each age group.
Main Results:
- Adult data replicated previous findings, showing significantly better object location recall in women.
- No significant sex differences in object location recall were observed in 4-year-olds, 10-11-year-olds, or 15-16-year-olds.
- These findings suggest a developmental emergence of sex differences in this spatial ability.
Conclusions:
- Adult females demonstrate superior object location memory compared to adult males.
- Sex differences in object location recall do not appear until adulthood, developing gradually through adolescence.
- Improvements in spatial memory during childhood and adolescence may underlie the emergence of female advantage in adulthood.