The Puzzle of Spatial Sex Differences: Current Status and Prerequisites to Solutions

Abstract

In this review, I summarize what we know about the development of sex-related differences in spatial skills, their potential malleability, and their possible causes. Current evidence suggests that sex differences increase in size with age, at least for skills with assessments suitable for use across development. However, male advantages vary from nonexistent to substantial, depending on the skills assessed, task parameters, and culture. Training and practice can improve spatial skills, although interventions tested so far do not eliminate the male advantage (when there is one). The complex pattern of increases with age, task variation, and cultural variation challenges efforts to theorize about causation. Progress requires identifying the underlying cognitive and neural structure of the spatial domain, developing reliable and valid assessment tools suitable for use across wide age ranges, gathering large datasets from a variety of cultural settings, and identifying and investigating specific mechanisms for growth and change.