Sex differences in mental rotation with polygons of different complexity: Do men utilize holistic processes whereas women prefer piecemeal ones?

Full Abstract

Sex differences in mental rotation were investigated as a function of stimulus complexity with a sample size of N = 72. Replicating earlier findings with polygons, mental rotation was faster for males than for females, and reaction time increased with more complex polygons. Additionally, sex differences increased for complex polygons. Most importantly, however, mental rotation speed decreased with increasing complexity for women but did not change for men. Thus, the sex effects reflect a difference in strategy, with women mentally rotating the polygons in an analytic, piecemeal fashion and men using a holistic mode of mental rotation.

Author information

Author/s: Heil, Martin (M); Jansen-Osmann, Petra (P);

Affiliation: Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) (Q J Exp Psychol (Colchester)), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-May; vol 61 (issue 5) : pp 683-9

Dates: Created 2008/04/18; Completed 2008/07/24;

PMID: 18421643, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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