Emergence and Characterization of Sex Differences in Spatial Ability: A Meta-Analysis
1985/12/01 by Marcia C. Linn, Anne C. Petersen · 2,974 citations
Engineering · Psychology · #Biology #Cognition #Developmental psychology #Evolutionary biology #Life span #Mental rotation #Meta-analysis #Perception #Psychology #Sex characteristics #Spatial Cognition and Navigation #Spatial ability
paper · doi:10.2307/1130467
published in Child Development 56(6), 1479 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 1985/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract
Sex differences in spatial ability are widely acknowledged, yet considerable dispute surrounds the magnitude, nature, and age of first occurrence of these differences. This article focuses on 3 questions about sex differences in spatial ability: What is the magnitude of sex differences in spatial ability? On which aspects of spatial ability are sex differences found? and When, in the life span, are sex differences in spatial ability first detected? Implications for clarifying the linkage between sex differences in spatial ability and other differences between males and females are discussed. We use meta-analysis, a method for synthesizing empirical studies, to investigate these questions. Results of the meta-analysis suggest that sex differences arise on some types of spatial ability but not others, that large sex differences are found only on measures of mental rotation, that smaller sex differences are found on measures of spatial perception, and that, when sex differences are found, they can be detected across the life span.
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