The development of gender differences in spatial reasoning: A meta-analytic review

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Gender differences in spatial aptitude, particularly mental rotation, are well-documented in adults.
• The developmental progression of this male advantage in mental rotation is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the developmental trajectory of gender differences in mental rotation performance.
• To determine how age and procedural factors influence these differences in children and adolescents.

Main Methods:

• A meta-analysis was conducted on 303 effect sizes from studies involving 30,613 children and adolescents.
• Data were analyzed to assess gender differences in mental rotation performance across different age groups.

Main Results:

• A small male advantage in mental rotation emerged during childhood and increased with age.
• The male advantage reached a moderate effect size by adolescence.
• Task and stimulus characteristics also explained variability in gender differences, independent of age.

Conclusions:

• The magnitude of the gender difference in mental rotation performance changes significantly throughout development.
• Both age and specific procedural factors moderate the observed gender differences in spatial aptitude.