Examining cognitive sex differences in elite math intensive education: Preliminary evidence from a gender inequitable country

Background

It is unclear how cognitive control accounts for academic performance in math-intensive higher education and how it links to male over-representation in math-intensive education in gender-inequitable countries.

Purpose

To examine the link between cognitive control and math-intensive education with a focus on male overrepresentation by using cognitive performance (task and construct level) to account for academic grades, and examining sex-specificity in cognitive performance (task and construct level), and using sex-differences in cognitive performance to account for academic grades.

Results

Four hierarchical regressions were used (two using task scores and two summed scores) with predictors entered in 3 blocks (working memory, flexibility, inhibition) to explain academic performance (bootstrapped sampling at 2000 samples; N = 39; males =69%). Task-level analysis (Corsi span & mental rotation) and construct-level analysis indicate working memory as a significant predictor of grades, model-fit improved for all-male sample. Results of analysis of variance using the performance of 183 students on four cognitive tasks (N = 183; males = 81%) showed high scores of working memory task and decision-making task among male participants; female scores were higher in a task assessing planning/cognitive flexibility and in the inhibition task. Differences in the two hierarchical regressions indicated that planning/cognitive flexibility accounts for the academic performance of the male-female mixed sample; however, working memory, most importantly decision-making related to risk and uncertainty, accounts for the academic performance of the all-male sample.

Conclusion

Similar to developing countries, working memory and decision making might contribute to academic performance, potentially explaining male over-representation in math-intensive higher education. Academic grades might disproportionately rely on working memory and risky decision-making; equal emphasis and inclusive development of all components of cognitive control via academic curriculum and assessment might improve diversity in math-intensive higher education.