Abstract
Sex differences in spatial ability are a seriously debated topic, given the importance of spatial ability for success in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and girls' underrepresentation in these domains. In the current study we investigated the presence of stereotypic gender beliefs on spatial ability (i.e., “spatial ability is for boys”) in 10- and 12-year-old children. We used both an explicit measure (i.e., a self-report questionnaire) and an implicit measure (i.e., a child IAT). Results of the explicit measure showed that both sexes associated spatial ability with boys, with boys holding more male stereotyped attitudes than girls. On the implicit measure, boys associated spatial ability with boys, while girls were gender-neutral. In addition, we examined the effects of gender beliefs on spatial performance, by experimentally activating gender beliefs within a pretest—instruction—posttest design. We compared three types of instruction: boys are better, girls are better, and no sex differences. No effects of these gender belief instructions were found on children's spatial test performance (i.e., mental rotation and paper folding). The finding that children of this age already have stereotypic beliefs about the spatial capacities of their own sex is important, as these beliefs may influence children's choices for spatial leisure activities and educational tracks in the STEM domain.
Highlights
Spatial reasoning is an important and unique aspect of children’s thinking, consisting of different abilities involving the mental representation and manipulation of spatial information
In the first part we investigated whether 10- and 12-year-old children were characterized by explicit and implicit stereotypic gender beliefs on spatial ability (i.e., “spatial is for boys”) and we examined possible sex and age differences in these beliefs
The implicit gender beliefs were measured by a child IAT, assessing children’s implicit associations between “boy” and “spatial.” On basis of previous research, we expected boys to have stronger explicit and implicit stereotypic gender beliefs regarding spatial abilities and activities than girls (Ruthsatz et al, 2012; Neuburger et al, 2015)
Summary
Spatial reasoning is an important and unique aspect of children’s thinking, consisting of different abilities involving the mental representation and manipulation of spatial information (e.g., object rotation, mental folding, perspective taking, and navigating). On other spatial tasks, such as the Paper Folding Test and WISC Block Design test, no consistent sex differences are found (Voyer et al, 1995) This relatively late emergence of sex differences in mental rotation suggests that socio-psychological and experiential factors play an important role in their onset. There is strong evidence that sex differences in spatial ability are related to sex differences in spatial experience, such as play with spatial toys and participation in spatial school subjects (e.g., Baenninger and Newcombe, 1995; Jirout and Newcombe, 2015; Moè, 2016) The activation of positive or negative beliefs about the ability of one of both sexes may lead to sex differences in spatial performance in a test situation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
