New study disputes notion that men are better at spatial thinking than women
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 - 12:00
in Psychology & Sociology
(PhysOrg.com) -- Throughout much of human history, it has been assumed by both men and women that men are somehow better able to solve so-described spatial problems than are women. This apparent discrepancy has been used to explain the differences in the numbers of men versus women receiving doctoral degrees in the math and sciences, at least in the United States. Now however, new research by Moshe Hoffman, a researcher from the University of California and colleagues suggests that conventional thinking might be wrong. He and his team have published a paper on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that suggests that spatial ability comes more as a result of the environment in which a person is raised, rather than from gender.