Dataset Information

Spatial anxiety and self-confidence mediate sex/gender differences in mental rotation.

ABSTRACT: A recent meta-synthesis study with a sample of >12 million participants revealed that the male advantage in mental rotation (MR) is the largest cognitive sex/gender difference found in psychological literature. MR requires test takers to mentally rotate three-dimensional cubic figures under time restrictions. Previous studies have investigated how biological and social factors contribute to cognitive sex/gender differences in tasks of this type. Spatial anxiety and self-confidence in MR tasks have received less attention. The present study investigated the contribution of these psychological factors to sex/gender differences in MR performance. Participants (n = 269) completed two MR tasks that differed in task difficulty. Participants also indicated their self-confidence (for each item) and spatial anxiety. The results revealed that pronounced sex/gender differences in spatial anxiety and self-confidence mediate sex/gender in MR performance, especially when task demands are high. The current findings suggest that task-irrelevant factors that are not spatial cognitive in nature contribute largely to the well-known medium to large sex/gender differences in MR. Future studies should further explore mechanisms underlying cognitive sex/gender differences within a biopsychosocial approach.

SUBMITTER: Arrighi L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9488019 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Spatial anxiety and self-confidence mediate sex/gender differences in mental rotation.

Arrighi Linda L Hausmann Markus M

Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) 20220902 9

A recent meta-synthesis study with a sample of >12 million participants revealed that the male advantage in mental rotation (MR) is the largest cognitive sex/gender difference found in psychological literature. MR requires test takers to mentally rotate three-dimensional cubic figures under time restrictions. Previous studies have investigated how biological and social factors contribute to cognitive sex/gender differences in tasks of this type. Spatial anxiety and self-confidence in MR tasks ha ...[more]

PMID: 36206394

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background: The prevalence and comorbidity of anxiety disorders are significantly different between women and men, with research showing a greater impact on women. The aim of this review was to identify the psychosocial and biological factors that have been considered to explain this gender and sex difference in prevalence and determine whether these factors are related to any anxiety comorbidity differences between men and women. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, we carried out a systematic review of studies published between 2008 and 2021 in PsycINFO and PubMed databases. Empirical and review studies evaluating psychosocial and biological factors that could influence the difference in prevalence and comorbidity between men and women were included. A qualitative narrative synthesis was performed to describe the results. Results: From 1012 studies, 44 studies were included. Retrieved articles were categorized depending on their object of study: psychosocial factors (n = 21), biological factors (n = 16), or comorbidity (n = 7). Results showed that differences in anxiety between women and men have been analyzed by psychosocial and biological factors but rarely together. Among the psychosocial factors analyzed, masculinity may be a protective factor for anxiety development, while femininity can be a risk factor. In the studies that took biological factors into account, the potential influence of brain structures, genetic factors, and fluctuations in sexual hormones are pointed out as causes of greater anxiety in women. Concerning comorbidity, the results noted that women tend to develop other internalizing disorders (e.g. depression), while men tend to develop externalizing disorders (e.g. substance abuse). Conclusions: For an accurate understanding of differences between women and men in anxiety, both biological and psychosocial factors should be considered. This review highlights the need to apply the biopsychosocial model of health and the gender perspective to address differences in anxiety between sexes.

Dataset Information

Spatial anxiety and self-confidence mediate sex/gender differences in mental rotation.

Publications

Spatial anxiety and self-confidence mediate sex/gender differences in mental rotation.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets