Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Sex difference in geographical knowledge: driving experience is not essential.

William W Beatty1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City 73190, USA. william-beatty@ouhsc.edu

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS
|September 21, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Males consistently outperform females in geographical knowledge tests. This difference persists regardless of age or education, and is not explained by driving experience, suggesting other factors influence spatial cognition.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Influences of clustering and switching on the verbal fluency performance of patients with alzheimer's disease.

Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition·2017
Same author

Evidence for deficits in facial affect recognition and theory of mind in multiple sclerosis.

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS·2009
Same author

Diagnosis and classification of pediatric bipolar disorder.

Journal of affective disorders·2007
Same author

Practical methods for the clinical assessment of information processing speed.

The International journal of neuroscience·2006
Same author

Verbal fluency deficits in multiple sclerosis.

Neuropsychologia·2005
Same author

Musical skill in dementia: a violinist presumed to have Alzheimer's disease learns to play a new song.

Neurocase·2005

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Human Geography
  • Spatial Cognition

Background:

  • Males consistently demonstrate superior accuracy in locating places on maps compared to females.
  • This sex difference in geographical knowledge is observed across various age groups and education levels.
  • Both sexes acquire spatial knowledge through environmental navigation, integrating it into cognitive maps.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of driving experience in the observed sex differences in geographical knowledge.
  • To determine if driving experience influences the accuracy of map-based place location.
  • To assess the sex difference in spatial cognition among individuals with varying driving experience.

Main Methods:

  • The study compared the map-based place location accuracy of adolescents too young to drive with older individuals possessing varied driving experience.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Participants located places on an outline map of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
  • Performance was analyzed to identify sex differences in accuracy and the influence of driving experience.

    • Main Results:

    • The magnitude of the sex difference in geographical knowledge accuracy remained consistent across groups, including those too young to drive and drivers of varying experience.
    • Absolute performance levels varied, but the relative difference between males and females was stable.
    • Driving experience did not account for the observed sex difference in spatial accuracy.

    Conclusions:

    • The sex difference in geographical knowledge is not attributable to differences in driving experience between males and females.
    • Factors beyond driving experience likely contribute to the observed disparities in spatial cognition and map-based navigation skills.
    • Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms influencing sex-based differences in spatial abilities.