Gender differences in math and english achievement: A longitudinal study

This study investigated gender-related developmental trends in math and English achievement as measured by classroom grades and standardized test scores. The sample consisted of 30 males and 30 females followed from 6th through 12th grade. Previous research suggests that developmental trends in male and female achievement may differ as a function of assessment context. Thus, it was hypothesized that female math and English classroom grades would remain stable over time but that achievement test scores in both subject areas would decline. For males, it was hypothesized that performance in both assessment contexts would remain stable. Results confirmed these hypotheses. Results also suggest that school-related responsibility is related to performance in both assessment contexts for females but not for males. The need to consider personal goals when assessing differences in academic ability and performance capabilities is discussed.     

Gender differences in the development of relationships during late adolescence

Until recently, inadequate measures of affiliation need and relationship closeness hindered investigations into the social development of adolescents. For example, assumptions about gender differences (Douvan & Adelson, 1966; Gilligan, 1982) and age-related changes (Dunphy, 1972; Erikson, 1968; Newman & Newman, 1976) in affiliation need and relationship closeness have remained virtually untested. To better understand adolescent social behavior and test these assumptions, recently developed measures of affiliation need and interpersonal closeness were used to examine seventy-four 18- to 20-year-olds. In support of Erikson's theory, need for social comparison declined with age for both sexes. However, in support of Gilligan's theory, not only were females more attached to their partners, but these gender differences were most pronounced for the 18-year-olds. Finally, Dunphy's (1972) assumption that adolescents' need for stimulation peaks around age 18 or 19 and then declines, and Newman and Newman's (1976) position that need for emotional support declines in later adolescence, held true--but only for females.     

Gender differences in way-finding strategies: Relationship to spatial ability and spatial anxiety

Sex Roles - Differences between women and men in the self-reported use of two different way-finding strategies were examined in a sample of primarily white middle to lower middle class college...     

Relations among peer acceptance,inhibitory control,and math achievement in early adolescence

This study examined relations among peer acceptance, inhibitory control, and math achievement in ninety-nine 4th and 5th grade early adolescents. Teachers rated students on peer acceptance and students completed a computerized executive function task assessing inhibitory control. Math achievement was assessed via end of year math grades. Results indicated that both inhibitory control and peer acceptance were positively and significantly related to math achievement. In addition, peer acceptance significantly mediated the relationship between inhibitory control and math grades when all three variables were entered simultaneously in a linear regression model. These results suggest that peer acceptance is an important indicator of social functioning and plays a significant part in academic success in the classroom. Results also suggest that indicators of social functioning – such as peer acceptance – need to be included in addition to cognitive functioning, when examining academic achievement in early adolescence.     

Gender differences in animal cognition science

Animal Cognition - Women’s representation in science is increasing steadily, with some fields closing gender parity in terms of participation and scientific output. Animal cognition appears...     

Gender differences in autonomous and social achievement orientations

This research examined gender differences in orientations toward autonomous and social achievement. Three independent samples of subjects (total N= 359 males and 574 females) completed measures of achievement orientation (including Strumpfer's [1975] Autonomous Achievement Values and Social Achievement Values scales) and relevant cognitive, affective, and behavioral variables. Correlational and factor analyses clearly identified distinct autonomous and social achievement factors for both men and women in each of the samples. Examination of the correlates of achievement orientation indicated that whereas an autonomous achievement orientation is similarly expressed in males and females, there are considerable sex differences in the expression of an orientation toward social achievement. In particular, a social achievement orientation was associated with concerns over social approval and responsiveness to social influence among males, but was generally unrelated to these factors among females. Findings are discussed in terms of several recent hypotheses concerning the effects of sex role norms on the development and expression of achievement needs in men and women.     

Sex differences in assertive achievement patterns

Observations in mathematics and social studies classrooms were made of 40 sixth-grade children of average and high ability to investigate whether males and females differ in assertive achievement behavior. The prediction of less assertive achievement behavior for females than males was supported only among average-ability children. Particularly in social studies, average-ability females participated less in the classroom than average-ability males and either high-ability males or females. Average-ability females' deficit of assertive behavior became more pronounced as the behavior category increased in degree of assertiveness. High-ability females demonstrated a deficit only in the most assertive behavior category.     

Sex differences in spatial ability and spatial activities

Explanations of sex-related differences in spatial ability emphasizing the role of sex-differentiated experience have not been supported by direct measurement of spatial activities during adolescence, the period when these differences seem to increase. The present research involved development of a scale to measure the spatial experience of adolescents and adults. In Study 1, a list, as complete as possible of adolescent activities was compiled and given to undergraduate judges for ratings of involvement of spatial skills and sex-typing. Judges also indicated whether they had participated in each activity. Activities considered spatial by 75% or more of the judges were used to develop a spatial experience questionnaire. Judgments of the spatial nature of tasks were positively correlated with judged masculinity and with greater male than female participation. In Study 2, participation in spatial activities by undergraduates was correlated with spatial ability as measured by the Differential Aptitude Test. The activity questionnaire should prove useful in studying the development of spatial ability in adolescents and adults.     

Gender differences in friendship patterns

The same-sex and opposite-sex friendship patterns of men and women students from two first-year psychology classes at the University of Waikato in New Zealand were examined. A friendship questionnaire previously used in the United States of America was administered to compare results of the two cultures. Findings from this study support American research suggesting that women are more intimate and emotional in their same-sex friendships than men, and tend to place a higher value on these friendships than men do. In accordance with findings of the American sample, New Zealand women emphasized talking, emotional sharing, and discussing personal problems with their same-sex friends, and men showed an emphasis on sharing activities and doing things with their men friends. Differences between the American and New Zealand samples were shown for men in the number of friends and the intimacy levels of these friendships. New Zealand men preferred numerous but less intimate same-sex friends, while women (as in the United States) showed a preference for a few, close, intimate same-sex friends. Men, in contrast to women, derived emotional support and therapeutic value more from their opposite-sex relationships than their same-sex friendships. Finally, more men than women stated they would not cancel an engagement with an opposite-sex friend in order to go out with a same-sex friend. Results are interpreted as suggesting a need for changes in the current socialization process of males who are taught to repress their emotions and form rather less intimate and possibly less beneficial same-sex friendships than women.     

Age-related similarities and differences in monitoring spatial cognition

Spatial cognitive performance is impaired in later adulthood but it is unclear whether the metacognitive processes involved in monitoring spatial cognitive performance are also compromised. Inaccurate monitoring could affect whether people choose to engage in tasks that require spatial thinking and also the strategies they use in spatial domains such as navigation. The current experiment examined potential age differences in monitoring spatial cognitive performance in a variety of spatial domains including visual–spatial working memory, spatial orientation, spatial visualization, navigation, and place learning. Younger and older adults completed a 2D mental rotation test, 3D mental rotation test, paper folding test, spatial memory span test, two virtual navigation tasks, and a cognitive mapping test. Participants also made metacognitive judgments of performance (confidence judgments, judgments of learning, or navigation time estimates) on each trial for all spatial tasks. Preference for allocentric or egocentric navigation strategies was also measured. Overall, performance was poorer and confidence in performance was lower for older adults than younger adults. In most spatial domains, the absolute and relative accuracy of metacognitive judgments was equivalent for both age groups. However, age differences in monitoring accuracy (specifically relative accuracy) emerged in spatial tasks involving navigation. Confidence in navigating for a target location also mediated age differences in allocentric navigation strategy use. These findings suggest that with the possible exception of navigation monitoring, spatial cognition may be spared from age-related decline even though spatial cognition itself is impaired in older age.     

Sex differences in spatial cognition, computational fluency, and arithmetical reasoning

Alternative explanations for the male advantage in arithmetical reasoning, as measured by the ability to solve complex word problems, include a male advantage in spatial cognition and a male advantage in computational fluency. The current study was designed to test these competing hypotheses. To this end, 113 male and 123 female undergraduates were administered arithmetical computations and arithmetical reasoning tests, along with an IQ test and a test of spatial cognition. There was no sex difference on the IQ test, but males showed significantly higher mean scores on the arithmetical computations, arithmetical reasoning, and spatial cognition measures. A series of structural equation models indicated that individual differences in arithmetical reasoning were related to individual differences in IQ, spatial abilities, and computational fluency. Moreover, the results suggested that the male advantage in arithmetical reasoning is mediated by the male advantages in both computational fluency and spatial cognition.     

Restructuring ability and patterns of physics achievement.

For a sample of 24 male and 19 female college students, persons with high visualization (F1,36 = 7.60, P less than .01) and low flexibility of closure (F1,36 = 6.54, P less than .02) attained significantly higher achievement in physics than persons with low visualization or high flexibility of closure. Persons with high restructuring ability and high spatial visualization (M = 88.64, SD = 15.6) attained a significantly higher level of physics achievement than persons with high restructuring ability and low spatial visualization (M = 56.5, SD = 25.1). Flexibility of closure, spatial visualization, and the embedded figures test accounted for 23.8%, 18.4%, and 53% of the variability in physics achievement among the entire sample, among amles, and among females, respectively. The data provided moderate support for the field-dependence--independence model of psychological differentiation and for investigators who reported a possible link between field-dependence--independence, visualization, and extent of neurological lateralization.     

Gender differences in marital communication patterns

This study examined conflict-resolution interactions of couples, and related marital satisfaction to sequential and nonsequential communication patterns. Couples' satisfaction with marriage has been differentiated on the basis of the degree of coercive versus affiliative communication between partners. Results of this study indicate that this pattern differs, however, for individuals within couples on the basis of gender. Females and males were found to demonstrate different styles of response to dissatisfaction in marriage; men assume a coercive stance toward their partners while women take an affiliative position. Drawing on systemic and gender-difference theoretical perspectives, these patterns are interpreted as attempts by individuals with different world views to resolve conflict. A view is discussed whereby systems and gender differences can be integrated into a unified conceptual formulation upon which to base future development in research and therapeutic interventions.     

Gender differences in leisure-need activity patterns

A gender-by-leisure choice model predicting four different leisure-choice-by-need patterns, based on gender restricted or unrestricted choice by same or different needs, is described and tested. Assessment of leisure-choice-by-need patterns was made by determining the relevance of a set of 13 need attributes for 16 different leisure activities. Gender differences in need attributes for each activity were identified using stepwise discriminant analysis. Results revealed significant discriminations for 12 of the 16 activities. Analyses further indicated that somewhat different clusters of need attributes were associated with each activity. Results provided tentative support for the proposed model, suggesting that participation in some activities is related to the same needs for males and females, while participation in other activities is related to different needs.     

Genetic and environmental influences on academic achievement trajectories during adolescence

Most studies have considered the effects of particular characteristics on academic achievement individually, which means that little is known about how they function together. Using the population-based Minnesota Twin Family Study, the authors investigated the effects of child academic engagement (interest, involvement, effort), IQ, depression, externalizing behavior, and family environmental risk on academic achievement (reported school grades) from ages 11 through 17. Hierarchical linear growth curve modeling showed main effects on initial reported Grades for all variables, and IQ mitigated the deleterious effects of family risk and externalizing. Only engagement affected change in Grades through adolescence. Influences on initial Grades were strongly genetically influenced, associated primarily with IQ, engagement, and externalizing behavior. Shared environmental influences on initial Grades linked engagement, IQ, and family risk. Genetic influences on change in Grades were substantial, but they were not associated with the academic, family risk, and mental health covarying factors. These results indicate that age 11 achievement and change in achievement through adolescence show systematic patterns and document the existence of individual differences in the commonly shared developmental experience of adapting to the school environment.     

Dimensional transformation in tests of spatial and environmental cognition

In previous research, it has been argued that spatial performance on psychometric tests might be accounted for, in part, by the need for test-takers to transform mentally two-dimensional (2-D) test items into a three-dimensional (3-D) representation. With this in mind, the Landscape Perception Test (LPT) was designed to isolate the 2-D to 3-D (and vice versa) transformational aspect of spatial cognition. Gender differences were used as an indirect means to examine the contribution of the 2-D to 3-D transformation to spatial performance. Since the LPT was designed by means of an image relevant to geospatial cognition, measures of environmental cognition, as well as experience in various activities, were also examined. One hundred thirty undergraduate students (66 females and 64 males) completed the Childhood Activities Questionnaire, the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Test, the Visualization of Views (VV) Test, the Perspective Taking/Spatial Orientation Test, and the LPT. Results showed higher scores for men than for women on LPT items requiring 2-D to 3-D conversion (LPT23), but not on those requiring the reverse operation. In addition, only the LPT23 produced significant indirect effects of gender on VV Test performance. Performance on the tests was also correlated with environmental cognition and previous experience with spatial activities. The results suggest that dimensional transformation might be a factor significantly contributing to spatial performance. Psychometric aspects of the LPT are also discussed.     

Gender differences in remembering and inferring spatial distances

The abilities of males and females to make spatial inferences were compared. Spatial inference is concerned with the ability to work out new spatial information from memory. In two experiments, participants had to study line drawings depicting shapes linked either by straight or meandering lines. Afterwards, they had to remember the straight-line distances or to infer the straight-line distances. Several spatial abilities were also assessed: perceptual discrimination, mental rotation, and visuo-spatial working memory span. The results showed that males outperformed females in spatial inference and mental rotation. Experiment 2 extended the study to old people. The results replicated and clarified those obtained in Experiment 1. Spatial inference and mental rotation showed age-related and gender-related differences; in addition, age reduced the visuo-spatial memory span. Overall, the findings suggest that gender differences favouring males are maximised with tasks requiring active processing and strategic control of metric information.     

Gender differences in remembering and inferring spatial distances

The abilities of males and females to make spatial inferences were compared. Spatial inference is concerned with the ability to work out new spatial information from memory. In two experiments, participants had to study line drawings depicting shapes linked either by straight or meandering lines. Afterwards, they had to remember the straight-line distances or to infer the straight-line distances. Several spatial abilities were also assessed: perceptual discrimination, mental rotation, and visuo-spatial working memory span. The results showed that males outperformed females in spatial inference and mental rotation. Experiment 2 extended the study to old people. The results replicated and clarified those obtained in Experiment 1. Spatial inference and mental rotation showed age-related and gender-related differences; in addition, age reduced the visuo-spatial memory span. Overall, the findings suggest that gender differences favouring males are maximised with tasks requiring active processing and strategic control of metric information.     

Gender, level of spatial ability, and lateralization of mental rotation

The present study indicates that some of the inconsistencies in studies of the lateralization of mental rotation may be a consequence of uncontrolled individual differences in the general level of spatial ability. In order to investigate the relation between spatial ability and the lateralization of mental rotation, 48 subjects (24 males and 24 females) were divided into three groups based on their performance on a standardized test of spatial ability. They then performed a lateralized two-dimensional mental rotation task. The results showed the typical mental rotation function in that angle of rotation and reaction time were linearly related. A significant spatial ability by visual field interaction indicated that subjects with low spatial ability had a left field advantage, whereas subjects with medium spatial ability showed no field advantage and subjects with high spatial ability showed a right field advantage. Gender also interacted with visual field, with males showing a left visual superiority and females an insignificant right visual field advantage. A significant three-way interaction of gender, spatial ability, and angle of rotation reflected the fact that low spatial males were more profoundly affected by rotation than the other groups. The results suggest that at least some of the inconsistent findings in studies of lateralization of mental rotation may be accounted for by differences in the level of spatial ability.     

Sex differences in the relation between math performance, spatial skills, and attitudes

Sex differences have been previously found in cognitive and affective predictors of math achievement, including spatial skills and math attitudes. It is important to determine whether there are sex differences not only in the predictors themselves, but also in the nature of their relation to math achievement. The present paper examined spatial skills and math attitudes as predictors of curriculum-based measures of math performance in middle-school students, specifically comparing the patterns of these predictive relations for boys and girls. The results of the current study showed that, despite similar levels of math performance for boys and girls, the significance of particular predictors varied as a function of sex. Specifically, spatial skills predicted math performance in boys, but not in girls. We suggest that sex differences in spatial reasoning in conjunction with the differential involvement of spatial reasoning in math problem solving may lead to later sex differences in math outcomes.