Gender Differences in Spatial Ability: Implications for STEM Education

Flashcards covering the vocabulary and core concepts related to gender differences in visual-spatial ability and its impact on STEM education.

Spatial Ability

Defined by Linn and Petersen (1985) as the skill in representing, transforming, generating, and recalling symbolic, non-linguistic information.

Spatial Perception

One of three categories of spatial ability involving the perception of spatial relationships; measured by tasks like the Piagetian Water Level Task or the Judgment of Line Angle and Position test (JLAP).

Mental Rotation

A spatial task requiring individuals to rotate objects mentally to imagine their appearance from different perspectives; it typically shows the largest gender differences ($d = 0.66$ in adults).

Spatial Visualization

Complex multistep manipulations of spatial information requiring multiple strategies to reach a solution; measured by tests like the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) or the Paper Folding task.

Spatiotemporal Ability

A proposed fourth category of spatial ability involving time-to-arrival judgments or tracking the movement of an object through space.

Meta-analysis

A statistical technique employed to summarize research findings across multiple studies and quantify effects in an open and transparent manner.

Statistical Significance

The probability that the observed group differences in a study are unlikely to have occurred by chance.

Statistical Power

The ability of a study to detect a statistically significant effect in a given sample if the effect is indeed genuine.

Cohen’s d

A common metric representing the mean difference between two groups divided by the pooled standard deviation, used to determine the magnitude of an effect (e.g., $d < 0.20$ is small; $0.50$ is medium; $0.80$ is large).

Biopsychosocial Model

A model of gender differences that acknowledges the mutual contribution of biological factors, social forces, cultural influences, and life experiences.

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

A genetic disorder causing high prenatal androgen exposure; affected girls often show male-typical play behaviors and higher spatial ability scores than same-sex peers.

Activational Role

The function of sex hormones in influencing behavior and cognition after the onset of puberty, such as fluctuations in performance during the menstrual cycle.

Sex-typing

The developmental process by which children acquire stereotypically masculine or feminine traits, behaviors, and interests.

Sex-Role Mediation Hypothesis

The proposal that a masculine or androgynous sex-role identity promotes the development of spatial ability through mechanisms like self-selection of activities and self-efficacy beliefs.

File Drawer Effect

A selection bias in scientific research where statistically significant findings are more likely to be published while non-significant findings are discarded.