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Global-local processing relates to spatial and verbal processing: implications for sex differences in cognition
Belinda Pletzer1,2, Andrea Scheuringer3,4, Thomas Scherndl3
1Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria. Belinda.Pletzer@sbg.ac.at.
Scientific Reports
|September 7, 2017
Summary
Men and women exhibit distinct cognitive processing styles, with males favoring holistic approaches and females detail-oriented ones. This study links global-local processing to these sex-based cognitive differences.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human behavior
Background:
- Sex differences in cognitive tasks are linked to distinct processing styles.
- Male cognitive styles are often holistic, while female styles are detail-oriented.
- These styles share similarities with global-local attentional processing, but a direct link is unestablished.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between cognitive processing styles and global-local processing.
- To determine if global advantage (GA) effects correlate with holistic processing in spatial navigation and verbal fluency tasks.
- To explore sex differences in the interplay between cognitive styles and global-local processing.
Main Methods:
- 49 men and 44 women participated in the study.
- Participants completed the Navon paradigm, Kimchi Palmer task, a navigation task, and a verbal fluency task.
- Global advantage (GA) effect was measured as an indicator of global processing.
Main Results:
- A larger global advantage (GA) effect correlated with more holistic processing in spatial navigation and verbal fluency tasks.
- The relationship between cognitive processing styles and global-local processing was influenced by Navon paradigm conditions.
- Sex significantly modulated the relationship between global-local processing and cognitive styles.
Conclusions:
- Global-local processing is directly related to cognitive processing styles, particularly holistic vs. detail-oriented approaches.
- Different types of global-local processing play distinct roles in male and female cognition.
- Findings highlight the nuanced influence of sex on cognitive processing strategies.
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