Sexual selection and sex differences in mathematical abilities

The influence of sex on the relations among spatial ability, math anxiety and math performance

BACKGROUND

A large body of research has found stronger math anxiety in females and suggests that inferior spatial abilities (or attributes towards spatial abilities) in females compared to males are the origin of sex differences in math anxiety.

PURPOSE

To fully explore the complex relationship among math anxiety, spatial abilities, math performance and sex differences, the current study examined spatial skills, working memory skills, math anxiety, and self-efficacy as predictors of math performance.

BASIC PROCEDURES

Participating in the study were 89 undergraduate Israeli students (44 males and 45 females).

MAIN FINDINGS

The result showed sex differences in a few domains: math anxiety was higher in females compared to males, males outperformed females in number line performance and spatial skills. The relationships among spatial abilities, math performance, and math anxiety were stronger in males than in females. By contrast, the relationship between math self-efficacy and performance was stronger in females compared to males.

CONCLUSIONS

This finding demonstrated fundamental differences between the sexes, even with similar performances in curriculum-based assessments.

The contribution of executive functions to sex differences in animal cognition

Cognitive sex differences have been reported in several vertebrate species, mostly in spatial abilities. Here, I review evidence of sex differences in a family of general cognitive functions that control behaviour and cognition, i.e., executive functions such as cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control. Most of this evidence derives from studies in teleost fish. However, analysis of literature from other fields (e.g., biomedicine, genetic, ecology) concerning mammals and birds reveals that more than 40% of species investigated exhibit sex differences in executive functions. Among species, the direction and magnitude of these sex differences vary greatly, even within the same family, suggesting sex-specific selection due to species' reproductive systems and reproductive roles of males and females. Evidence also suggests that sex differences in executive functions might provide males and females highly differentiated cognitive phenotypes. To understand the evolution of cognitive sex differences in vertebrates, future research should consider executive functions.

Motivational Factors Are Varying across Age Groups and Gender

The aim of the current study was to explore differences in passion for achievement, grit, and mindset across age and gender, by using a cross-sectional design. The sample consisted of 1548 participants including 931 females and 617 males aged from 13 to 77 years (Mage 26.53 years, SD = 11.77). The eight-item Passion for Achievement Scale was used to assess general passion and the Grit-S scale was used to assess grit. Mindset was assessed using the eight-item Theories of Intelligence Scale (TIS). The results indicated significant differences between the three factors related to age, age groups, and gender. For the total sample, there was a significant gender difference in passion, where males score higher, and growth mindset, where females score higher. With age, passion decreases until the age of 50–59, and slightly increases for the remaining age groups. After a decrease in grit between the first (13–19 years) and the second (20–29 years) age group, grit increases with age. Mindset scores decline strongly after the age of 40–49. Generally, the patterns show that mindset and passion decrease across the life-span, while grit increases. Indeed, these attributes seems to be different from each other, and how they change varies across age groups.

What does gender has to do with math? Complex questions require complex answers

Whether mathematics is a gendered domain or not is a long-lasting issue bringing along major social and educational implications. The females' underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has been considered one of the key signs of the math gender gap, although the current view largely attributes the origin of this phenomenon to sociocultural factors. Indeed, recent approaches to math gender differences reached the universal conclusion that nature and nurture exert reciprocal effects on each other, establishing the need for approaching the study of the math gender issue only once its intrinsic complexity has been accepted. Building upon a flourishing literature, this review provides an updated synthesis of the evidence for math gender equality at the start, and for math gender inequality on the go, challenging the role of biological factors. In particular, by combining recent findings from different research areas, the paper discusses the persistence of the "math male myth" and the associated "female are not good at math myth," drawing attention to the complex interplay of social and cultural forces that support such stereotypes. The suggestion is made that longevity of these myths results from the additive effects of two independent cognitive biases associated with gender stereotypes and with math stereotypes, respectively. Scholars' responsibility in amplifying these myths by pursuing some catching lines of research is also discussed.

Sex differences in the association of math achievement with visual-spatial and verbal working memory: Does the type of math test matter?

Previous research on sex differences in mathematical achievement shows mixed findings, which have been argued to depend on types of math tests used and the type of solution strategies (i.e., verbal versus visual‐spatial) these tests evoke. The current study evaluated sex differences in (a) performance (development) on two types of math tests in primary schools and (b) the predictive value of verbal and visual‐spatial working memory on math achievement. Children (N = 3175) from grades 2 through five participated. Visual‐spatial and verbal working memory were assessed using online computerized tasks. Math performance was assessed five times during two school years using a speeded arithmetic test (math fluency) and a word problem test (math problem solving). Results from Multilevel Multigroup Latent Growth Modeling, showed that sex differences in level and growth of math performance were mixed and very small. Sex differences in the predictive value of verbal and visual‐spatial working memory for math performance suggested that boys seemed to rely more on verbal strategies than girls. Explanations focus on cognitive and emotional factors and how these may interact to possibly amplify sex differences as children grow older.

Mathematics anxiety and mathematical calculation in deaf children: A moderated mediation model of mathematics self-efficacy and intelligence

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown the relationship between mathematics anxiety and math performance in deaf students, but their inner influencing mechanism remains unclear.

AIM

To examine a moderated mediation model between mathematics anxiety and mathematical calculation, with intelligence as a moderator, and mathematics self-efficacy as a mediator.

METHODS

A sample of 247 deaf children from 2 special education schools and 247 hearing children (matched in intelligence) from one mainstream school in China completed computerized tests of intelligence and mathematical calculation and self-report questionnaires of mathematics anxiety and mathematics self-efficacy. Simple mediation analyses and moderated mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS, and a simple slopes method was employed to plot the conditional indirect effects.

RESULTS

There was a significant negative correlation between mathematics anxiety and mathematical calculation, and between mathematics anxiety and mathematics self-efficacy in deaf children and hearing children. However, mathematics self-efficacy was positively associated with mathematical calculation in deaf children but not in hearing children, and the significantly negative relationship between mathematics anxiety and intelligence was observed only in deaf children but not in hearing children. Mathematics self-efficacy partially mediated the association between mathematics anxiety and mathematical calculation in deaf children; and the indirect effect between mathematics anxiety and mathematical calculation via mathematics self-efficacy was moderated by intelligence in deaf children but not in hearing children.

CONCLUSIONS

The results were discussed to illuminate the mechanism in relation to the practical implication for the intervention and early development of mathematics performance in deaf children.

Boys' visuospatial abilities compensate for their relatively poor in-class attentive behavior in learning mathematics

The mathematics and reading achievement of 322 adolescents (159 boys) was assessed in seventh and eighth grades, as were their intelligence, working memory, and spatial abilities. Their seventh- and eighth-grade mathematics and English language arts teachers reported on their in-class attentive behavior. The latter emerged as an important predictor of achievement, but more so for mathematics than for reading. Boy were less attentive in classroom settings than girls (d = -.34) and performed better than expected in mathematics given their level of engagement in the classroom. Boys' better-than-expected mathematics achievement was related to advantages on visuospatial measures (ds = .28-.56), which fully mediated a sex difference in mathematics (ds = .27-.28) but not in reading achievement, with control of in-class attentive behavior. The results suggest that boys' advantages in visuospatial skills compensate for lower levels of classroom engagement in the learning of mathematics but not in reading competencies.

Boys' advantage on the fractions number line is mediated by visuospatial attention: Evidence for a parietal-spatial contribution to number line learning

The study tested the hypotheses that boys will have an advantage learning the fractions number line and this advantage will be mediated by spatial abilities. Fractions number line and, as a contrast, fractions arithmetic performance were assessed for 342 adolescents, as was their intelligence, working memory, and various spatial abilities. Boys showed smaller placement errors on the fractions number line (d = -0.22) and correctly solved more fractions arithmetic problems (d = 0.23) than girls. Working memory and intelligence predicted performance on both fractions measures, and a measure of visuospatial attention uniquely predicted number line performance and fully mediated the sex difference. Visuospatial working memory uniquely predicted fractions arithmetic performance and fully mediated the sex difference. The results help to clarify the nuanced relations between spatial abilities and formal mathematics learning and the sex differences that often emerge in mathematical domains that have a visuospatial component.

Male and female guppies differ in problem-solving abilities

In a number of species, males and females have different ecological roles and therefore might be required to solve different problems. Studies on humans have suggested that the 2 sexes often show different efficiencies in problem-solving tasks; similarly, evidence of sex differences has been found in 2 other mammalian species. Here, we assessed whether a teleost fish species, the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, displays sex differences in the ability to solve problems. In Experiment 1, guppies had to learn to dislodge a disc that occluded a feeder from which they had been previously accustomed to feed. In Experiment 2, guppies had to solve a version of the detour task that required them to learn to enter a transparent cylinder from the open sides to reach a food reward previously freely available. We found evidence of sex differences in both problem-solving tasks. In Experiment 1, females clearly outperformed males, and in Experiment 2, guppies showed a reversed but smaller sex difference. This study indicates that sex differences may play an important role in fish’s problem-solving similar to what has previously been observed in some mammalian species.

Visual form perception is fundamental for both reading comprehension and arithmetic computation

Visual perception has been found to be a critical factor for reading comprehension and arithmetic computation in separate lines of research with different measures of visual form perception. The current study of 1099 Chinese elementary school students investigated whether the same visual form perception (assessed by a geometric figure matching task) underlies both reading comprehension and arithmetic computation. The results showed that visual form perception had close relations with both reading comprehension and arithmetic computation, even after controlling for age, gender, and cognitive factors such as processing speed, attention, working memory, visuo-spatial processing, and general intelligence. Results also showed that numerosity comparison's relations with reading comprehension and arithmetic computation were fully accounted for by visual form perception. These results suggest that reading comprehension and arithmetic computation might share a similar visual form processing mechanism.

No intrinsic gender differences in children's earliest numerical abilities

Recent public discussions have suggested that the under-representation of women in science and mathematics careers can be traced back to intrinsic differences in aptitude. However, true gender differences are difficult to assess because sociocultural influences enter at an early point in childhood. If these claims of intrinsic differences are true, then gender differences in quantitative and mathematical abilities should emerge early in human development. We examined cross-sectional gender differences in mathematical cognition from over 500 children aged 6 months to 8 years by compiling data from five published studies with unpublished data from longitudinal records. We targeted three key milestones of numerical development: numerosity perception, culturally trained counting, and formal and informal elementary mathematics concepts. In addition to testing for statistical differences between boys' and girls' mean performance and variability, we also tested for statistical equivalence between boys' and girls' performance. Across all stages of numerical development, analyses consistently revealed that boys and girls do not differ in early quantitative and mathematical ability. These findings indicate that boys and girls are equally equipped to reason about mathematics during early childhood.

The space-math link in preschool boys and girls: Importance of mental transformation, targeting accuracy, and spatial anxiety

Spatial abilities are pertinent to mathematical competence, but evidence of the space-math link has largely been confined to older samples and intrinsic spatial abilities (e.g., mental transformation). The roles of gender and affective factors are also unclear. This study examined the correlations between counting ability, mental transformation, and targeting accuracy in 182 Hong Kong preschoolers, and whether these relationships were weaker at higher spatial anxiety levels. Both spatial abilities related with counting similarly for boys and girls. Targeting accuracy also mediated the male advantage in counting. Interestingly, spatial anxiety moderated the space-math links, but differently for boys and girls. For boys, spatial abilities were irrelevant to counting at high anxiety levels; for girls, the role of anxiety on the space-math link is less clear. Results extend the evidence base of the space-math link to include an extrinsic spatial ability (targeting accuracy) and have implications for intervention programmes. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Much evidence of a space-math link in adolescent and adult samples and for intrinsic spatial abilities. What does this study add? Extended the space-math link to include both intrinsic and extrinsic spatial abilities in a preschool sample. Showed how spatial anxiety moderated the space-math link differently for boys and girls.

Sex Differences in Processing Printed Advertisements

The success of using biological sex to divide or segment markets requires a thorough understanding of how men and women process and respond to advertisements and other persuasive communications. Toward this end, this research ( N = 64; 32 men and 32 women) studied how college-age men and women respond to printed advertisements. There were no differences between the sexes in recall and recognition of claims in advertisements, but men and women generated different types of message relevant thoughts—women generated more category thoughts and men generated more attribute thoughts, suggesting that, while women and men might not differ in the depth of processing, they might use different processing styles.

No Gender Difference in Spatial Representation by Schoolchildren in Northwest Pakistan

Results from two spatial tasks (Kohs block design and draw-a-person-with-face-in-front)support previously documented ecocultural findings with Stone-Age culture Auca Indians and challenge a basic Western assumption of gender differences in spatial tasks that favor males. Twenty-four male and 24 female schoolchildren (ages 8 to 10) in northwest Pakistan performed both spatial tasks without showing essential gender differences. Of the girls and boys, 44.4% and 63.6%, respectively, constructed Kohs blocks correctly. Of the girls and boys, 60.8% and 47.9%, respectively, produced similar schematized neolithic-type face patterns when asked to draw a face. These findings of similar spatial representation abilities and preferences in boys and girls are even more striking when considered within the context of an Islamic cultural tradition, which had, in the past, neglected women's education, also preserved traditional women's tasks.

Large Sex Difference in Adolescents on a Timed Line Judgment Task: Attentional Contributors and Task Relationship to Mathematics

Visuospatial performance, assessed with the new, group-administered Judgment of Line Angle and Position test (JLAP-13), varied with sex and mathematical competence in a group of adolescents. The JLAP-13, a low-level perceptual task, was modeled after a neuropsychological task dependent upon functioning of the posterior region of the right hemisphere [Benton et al, 1994 Contributions to Neuropsychological Assessment: A Clinical Manual (New York: Oxford University Press)]. High-school boys ( N = 52) performed better than girls ( N = 62), with a large effect for sex ( d= 1.11). Performance increased with mathematical competence, but the sex difference did not vary significantly across different levels of mathematics coursework. On the basis of earlier work, it was predicted that male, but not female, performance in line judgment would decline with disruptions to task geometry (page frame), and that the sex difference would disappear with disruptions to geometry. These predictions were supported by a number of univariate and sex-specific analyses, although an omnibus repeated-measures analysis did not detect the predicted interaction, most likely owing to limitations in power. Thus, there is partial support for the notion that attentional predispositions or strategies may contribute to visuospatial sex differences, with males more likely than females to attend to, and rely upon, internal or external representations of task geometry. Additional support for this hypothesis may require development of new measures or experimental manipulations with more powerful geometrical disruptions.

Testing accommodation or modification? The effects of integrated object representation on enhancing geometry performance in children with and without geometry difficulties

According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, geometry and spatial sense are fundamental components of mathematics learning. However, learning disabilities (LD) research has shown that many K-12 students encounter particular geometry difficulties (GD). This study examined the effect of an integrated object representation (IOR) accommodation on the test performance of students with GD compared to students without GD. Participants were 118 elementary students who took a researcher-developed geometry problem solving test under both a standard testing condition and an IOR accommodation condition. A total of 36 students who were classified with GD scored below 40% correct in the geometry problem solving test in the standard testing condition, and 82 students who were classified without GD scored equal to or above 40% correct in the same test and condition. All students were tested in both standard testing condition and IOR accommodation condition. The results from both ANOVA and regression discontinuity (RD) analyses suggested that students with GD benefited more than students without GD from the IOR accommodation. Implications of the study are discussed in terms of providing accommodations for students with mathematics learning difficulties and recommending RD design in LD research.

Mathematics development and difficulties: the role of visual-spatial perception and other cognitive skills

Several neurocognitive abilities, including visual-spatial and language-based processes, attention, and fine motor/finger skills, are thought to play important roles in mathematical development and disability. Evidence for relations of specific neurocognitive skills and mathematical development and disability is presented, with a particular emphasis on findings from longitudinal studies. Why these particular neurocognitive skills are related to math is also discussed. We suggest that mathematics learning in children with congenital and acquired neurodevelopmental disorders, including children treated for cancer, is particularly vulnerable to disruption because these disorders often affect one or more of the neurocognitive systems that support math learning and performance. Implications for assessment of and interventions for math difficulties are discussed. The article ends with implications for mathematical functioning in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and brain tumors.

Development of abstract mathematical reasoning: the case of algebra

Algebra typically represents the students’ first encounter with abstract mathematical reasoning and it therefore causes significant difficulties for students who still reason concretely. The aim of the present study was to investigate the developmental trajectory of the students’ ability to solve simple algebraic equations. 311 participants between the ages of 13 and 17 were given a computerized test of equation rearrangement. Equations consisted of an unknown and two other elements (numbers or letters), and the operations of multiplication/division. The obtained results showed that younger participants are less accurate and slower in solving equations with letters (symbols) than those with numbers. This difference disappeared for older participants (16–17 years), suggesting that they had reached an abstract reasoning level, at least for this simple task. A corresponding conclusion arises from the analysis of their strategies which suggests that younger participants mostly used concrete strategies such as inserting numbers, while older participants typically used more abstract, rule-based strategies. These results indicate that the development of algebraic thinking is a process which unfolds over a long period of time. In agreement with previous research, we can conclude that, on average, children at the age of 15–16 transition from using concrete to abstract strategies while solving the algebra problems addressed within the present study. A better understanding of the timing and speed of students’ transition from concrete arithmetic reasoning to abstract algebraic reasoning might help in designing better curricula and teaching materials that would ease that transition.

Spectrum of Mathematical Weaknesses: Related Neuropsychological Correlates

Math disorders have been recognized for as long as language disorders yet have received far less research. Mathematics is a complex construct and its development may be dependent on multiple cognitive abilities. Several studies have shown that short-term memory, working memory, visuospatial skills, processing speed, and various language skills relate to and may facilitate math development and performance. The hypotheses explored in this research were that children who performed worse on math achievement than on Full-Scale IQ would exhibit weaknesses in executive functions, memory, and visuoperceptual skills. Participants included 436 children (27% girls, 73% boys; age range = 5-17 years, M(age) = 9.45 years) who were referred for neuropsychological evaluations due to academic and/or behavioral problems. This article specifically focuses on the spectrum of math weakness rather than clinical disability, which has yet to be investigated in the literature. Results suggest that children with relative weakness to impairments in math were significantly more likely to have cognitive weaknesses to impairments on neuropsychological variables, as compared with children without math weaknesses. Specifically, the math-weak children exhibit a weakness to impairment on measures involving attention, language, visuoperceptual skills, memory, reading, and spelling. Overall, our results suggest that math development is multifaceted.

Sex differences in mathematics and reading achievement are inversely related: within- and across-nation assessment of 10 years of PISA data

We analyzed one decade of data collected by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), including the mathematics and reading performance of nearly 1.5 million 15 year olds in 75 countries. Across nations, boys scored higher than girls in mathematics, but lower than girls in reading. The sex difference in reading was three times as large as in mathematics. There was considerable variation in the extent of the sex differences between nations. There are countries without a sex difference in mathematics performance, and in some countries girls scored higher than boys. Boys scored lower in reading in all nations in all four PISA assessments (2000, 2003, 2006, 2009). Contrary to several previous studies, we found no evidence that the sex differences were related to nations' gender equality indicators. Further, paradoxically, sex differences in mathematics were consistently and strongly inversely correlated with sex differences in reading: Countries with a smaller sex difference in mathematics had a larger sex difference in reading and vice versa. We demonstrate that this was not merely a between-nation, but also a within-nation effect. This effect is related to relative changes in these sex differences across the performance continuum: We did not find a sex difference in mathematics among the lowest performing students, but this is where the sex difference in reading was largest. In contrast, the sex difference in mathematics was largest among the higher performing students, and this is where the sex difference in reading was smallest. The implication is that if policy makers decide that changes in these sex differences are desired, different approaches will be needed to achieve this for reading and mathematics. Interventions that focus on high-achieving girls in mathematics and on low achieving boys in reading are likely to yield the strongest educational benefits.

Can Stereotype Threat Explain the Gender Gap in Mathematics Performance and Achievement?

Men and women score similarly in most areas of mathematics, but a gap favoring men is consistently found at the high end of performance. One explanation for this gap, stereotype threat, was first proposed by Spencer, Steele, and Quinn (1999) and has received much attention. We discuss merits and shortcomings of this study and review replication attempts. Only 55% of the articles with experimental designs that could have replicated the original results did so. But half of these were confounded by statistical adjustment of preexisting mathematics exam scores. Of the unconfounded experiments, only 30% replicated the original. A meta-analysis of these effects confirmed that only the group of studies with adjusted mathematics scores displayed the stereotype threat effect. We conclude that although stereotype threat may affect some women, the existing state of knowledge does not support the current level of enthusiasm for this as a mechanism underlying the gender gap in mathematics. We argue there are many reasons to close this gap, and that too much weight on the stereotype explanation may hamper research and implementation of effective interventions.

Gender differences in children's arithmetic performance are accounted for by gender differences in language abilities

Studies have shown that female children, on average, consistently outperform male children in arithmetic. In the research reported here, 1,556 pupils (8 to 11 years of age) from urban and rural regions in the greater Beijing area completed 10 cognitive tasks. Results showed that girls outperformed boys in arithmetic tasks (i.e., simple subtraction, complex multiplication), as well as in numerosity-comparison, number-comparison, number-series-completion, choice reaction time, and word-rhyming tasks. Boys outperformed girls in a mental rotation task. Controlling for scores on the word-rhyming task eliminated gender differences in arithmetic, whereas controlling for scores on numerical-processing tasks (number comparison, numerosity estimation, numerosity comparison, and number-series completion) and general cognitive tasks (choice reaction time, Raven's Progressive Matrices, and mental rotation) did not. These results suggest that girls' advantage in arithmetic is likely due to their advantage in language processing.

What Accounts for Individual and Gender Differences in the Multi-Digit Number Processing of Primary School Children?

Gender differences in numerical domains have frequently been reported, but typically only from high-school age onwards. Recently, we found performance differences in favor of primary school boys in multi-digit number processing. Several underlying factors have been suggested to explain general differences in multi-digit number processing (such as visual-spatial working memory capacity), gender differences in mathematics (such as attitudes toward mathematics), and gender differences in multi-digit number processing (such as visual-spatial abilities). To date, no study has tested the concurrent impact of these factors on the development of multi-digit number processing in primary school children; thus, we applied structural equation modeling to a longitudinal dataset of 140 primary school children. Our main result was that gender exerted the strongest influence on multi-digit number processing, which was partly mediated by attitudes toward mathematics. Furthermore, general visual-spatial abilities (but not visual-spatial working memory) had a strong impact on individual differences in multi-digit number processing. These results are discussed in light of the psychobiosocial view.