Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities Ch 7

Chapter Overview I.Introductory Quiz II.Cognitive Abilities III.Sources of the Differences? IV.Implications V.Considering Diversity VI.The Game VII.The Point of the Game VIII.On the Web

I. Introductory Quiz

1. A good definition of intelligence is “How smart someone is.” False

2. The universal belief is that women are not as smart as men. True

3. Generally speaking, men are better in math that women. True

4. Men get lost more often than women. False

5. Women tend to be more creative than men. False

6. Women’s emotions are more transparent than men’s. True

7. Women smile more often than men. True

8. Women are better at reading non-verbal cues such as motives, feelings, and wishes than men. False

9. When it comes to cognitive abilities, the variation from person to person is greater than the variation between men and women’s cognitive abilities. True

10. If a person scores higher on a test of verbal abilities, the test taker is probably a woman. False

Bonus: Which students show the highest average levels of spatial abilities of any group of college majors?

II.COGNITIVE ABILITIES A.No gender differences found in original tests. B.Results of The Wechsler Test

1.Verbal Performance =a variety of tasks that require a verbal response a.Women & girls score higher on the verbal, too small to be of practical value. b.Girls’ and women’s advantages are large in writing performance

2.Mathematical and Quantitative Performance a.Men score higher on performance tasks. b.No gender differences during elementary school. c.During junior high school, the definition of mathematical ability changes & boys begin to outperform girls on some standardized math tests. d.Tests like the SAT under-predict women's and over-predict men's math performance in college => tests are biased.

 Attitudes toward math differ more than performance does. Girls feel math is less important to their futures girls feel less confident about their math abilities girls get less encouragement from parents & teachers in math. Boys and girls see math as a male domain.

3.Spatial Performance a.Boys and men have a small advantage when trying to locate horizontal or vertical lines in the presence of distracting information

a.b.c. d.e.f. g.h.i.

b.Boys and men have a much greater ability to visualize objects as they would appear if rotated in space (mental rotation)

a,b

c.No consistent gender differences in the ability to process spatial information to understand the relationship between objects in space, such as the ability to see a figure embedded in other figures (spatial visualization) d.Limited research => men do better than women involving judgments about moving objects in space (Spatiotemporal ability)

 Research indicates that experience is a factor in all of these types of spatial performance

Another stupid, sexist joke: Do you know what would have happened if it had been Three Wise Women instead of Three Wise Men? They would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and brought practical gifts.

Does anyone agree with that?

4.Other Mental Abilities a.i.e., memory, creativity, musical ability, and nonverbal communication b.Women and men use different strategies to find their way. Men are more successful in navigating in laboratory situations, but both are equally successful when navigating in the world.  Differences =>role expectation not mental abilities.  Ex: gender differences in communication style, especially interpreting nonverbal cues, may be more related to status and power than to gender.

III. Sources of the Difference Structural or functional differences in the brain?

A.Biological Evidence for Gender Differences 1.Possible causes: a.prenatal hormones b.selection differences during evolutionary history c.functional differences in the brain during the performance of various types of tasks.

2.Strong appeal but weak evidence a.Prenatal hormones creates only small differences in performance b.empirical confirmation for evolution’s influence not possible. c.research on functional imaging of living brains has shown some gender differences in patterns of activation but more individual than gender variation.

B.Sources of the Difference 1.Socialization and gender expectation?

2.Cultural and social role differences a.Factors such as familiarity and instructions influence performance on spatial tasks. b.Stereotype threat c.Many situations assessing verbal, quantitative, and spatial performance fall into this category.

IV. Implications A.They seem larger than they are. B.Gender differences in cognitive abilities should produce some differences in occupations but not to the magnitude that exists now. C.Janet Hyde has argued that the publicity given to gender differences in mental abilities has led to the acceptance of these differences as

V. Considering Diversity A.Most research showing gender differences comes from White students in the United States

B.Other groups show different patterns of difference. Ex: Hispanic and African American students in the United States do not show the male advantage for quantitative and spatial performance.

C.Richard Nisbett proposed that people in Eastern and Western cultures think differently, which leads to differences in perception and memory.

D.Considering cultural differences, Nisbett sees few gender-related differences that are as large.

VI. Game

VII. The Point of the Game Individual differenced overwhelm gender differences. “Well established difference” does not mean “large difference.” People’s beliefs allow small distinctions in cognitive abilities to have a large impact. Verbal, quantitative, and spatial differences between the sexes are between 1 and 5%--too small to explain or predict individual performances.

Bonus: Which students show the highest average levels of spatial abilities of any group of college majors? Answer: Fashion Designers

Dramatic Reading:

VIII. On the Web A. Want to take an IQ test? Online versions of several IQ-type tests are available on QueenDom.com ( In addition to traditional IQ-type tests, this webpage offers assessments of verbal and spatial abilities. Information about intelligence and assessments in other areas are also available.

B. If you are interested in girls who are video game enthusiasts, go to the GrrlGamer webpage ( which features reviews and sarcastic essays about the status of female characters and women in the video game industry. Women Gamers has a website ( which also offers reviews and a forum for women who are involved in video games.