PSYB30H3 Study Guide - Final Guide: Twin, Sensation Seeking, Bulimia Nervosa
Document Summary
It is true that men are better than women when it comes to one type of mathematical ability: spatial reasoning. Given mental rotation differences are there in infants as young as 3-5 months psychologists assume that the difference is somehow hard-wired into our biology. Those who played an action game before mental rotation task caused better performance; and for women they caught up to men"s ability without the training. Stereotyped beliefs suggest that women are concerned with other people and the social group while men focus on the individual and feelings of self-protection and assertion. These contrasting approaches have been called communion and agency. To compare findings across studies we need to understand something called effect size. Effect size tells us the impact or importance of a variable to the overall observed effect. Significance tests such as t-test or anova tell us whether there is a significant difference in average score between men and women.
