Influence of Gender/Sex Lecture Flashcards

These flashcards cover the key theories, research studies (including CAH and twin studies), and statistical evidence regarding sex and gender differences in cognition and behavior based on the lecture material.

General Intelligence (Sex differences)

A trait where meta-analyses such as Reynolds et al. (2022) found "no reliable or meaningful sex difference," though some older studies reported small effect sizes ($d = +.30$) in adults.

Effect Size ($d$)

A statistical measure used to quantify the difference between two groups; for example, Hyde (2016) noted a $d = 0.73$ for 3D mental rotation favoring males.

Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test

A social cognition assessment used by Greenberg et al. (2022) across $57$ countries with over $315,000$ participants to study sex differences.

Four-item Mentalising Index (FIMI)

A scale developed by Clutterbuck et al. (2021) where females were found to score higher than males in their ability to understand others' perspectives.

Gender Similarities Hypothesis

The theory proposed by Janet Hyde (2005) stating that for the vast majority of cognitive abilities, men and women score very similarly.

Organisational effects

Permanent changes to the brain induced by hormones, often prenatally, which lead to lasting differences in behavior or cognition.

Activational effects

Temporary changes in behavior or cognition caused by current or fluctuating hormonal levels, such as those occurring during the menstrual cycle.

SRY gene

A gene located on the Y chromosome that directs the production of testis determining factor in males.

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)

A condition caused by an enzyme deficiency resulting in low cortisol and high androgens (testosterone), often used to study the prenatal effects of hormones on behavior.

Spatial ability in CAH females

A research area with conflicting results, where Puts et al. (2008) found a moderate effect size ($d = .34/.47$), while Collaer & Hines (2020) found no significant difference.

Twin testosterone transfer hypothesis

The hypothesis that a female twin in a dizygotic opposite-sex (DZOS) pair is exposed to higher prenatal testosterone transferred from her male sibling.

Postnatal hormones (Menstrual cycle)

Hormonal shifts that, according to a recent meta-analysis by Jang et al. (2025), show no consistent evidence of causing changes in cognitive performance.

Gender bias in crawling expectations

A study by Mondschein et al. (2000) showing that mothers underestimated girls' crawling abilities and overestimated boys' abilities despite no actual performance difference.

Stereotype threat

The theory by Spencer et al. (1999) suggesting gender stereotypes impair performance; however, Flore et al. (2018) reported a non-replication of this effect in Dutch students.

Prenatal T surge

An increase in testosterone occurring in males between $9$ and $24$ weeks of gestation.