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ERIC Number: EJ1001679
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0160-2896
EISSN: N/A
Cognitive Sex Differences in Reasoning Tasks: Evidence from Brazilian Samples of Educational Settings
Flores-Mendoza, Carmen; Widaman, Keith F.; Rindermann, Heiner; Primi, Ricardo; Mansur-Alves, Marcela; Pena, Carla Couto
Intelligence, v41 n1 p70-84 Jan-Feb 2013
Sex differences on the Attention Test (AC), the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM), and the Brazilian Cognitive Battery (BPR5), were investigated using four large samples (total N=6780), residing in the states of Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo. The majority of samples used, which were obtained from educational settings, could be considered a nonprobability sampling. Females outperformed males on the AC (by 2 IQ points), whereas males slightly outperformed females on the SPM (by 1.5 IQ points). On the BPR5, sex differences favoring males were statistically significant (on average 6.2 IQ points). The largest difference was in Mechanical Reasoning (13 IQ points), and the smallest was in Spatial Reasoning (5 IQ points). In addition, two methods were adopted for determining whether sex differences existed at the level of general intelligence. First, a "g" factor score was estimated after principal axis factoring of test scores. Men had an advantage of 3.8 IQ points (statistically significant) on the "g" score, which was reduced to 2.7 IQ points (not significant), when the "g" score was estimated without including Mechanical Reasoning. Second, a confirmatory factor analysis approach was conducted that allowed testing of mean differences at the latent variable level. Again, sex differences favoring males were found (0.23 or 3.44 IQ points). Regarding educational and SES variables, some sex differences favoring males were found in the SPM and in the BPR5. In general, our results agree with studies that identify small, but consistent cognitive sex differences in reasoning tasks. Societal implications are discussed. (Contains 5 tables and 3 figures.)
Elsevier. 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800. Tel: 877-839-7126; Tel: 407-345-4020; Fax: 407-363-1354; e-mail: usjcs@elsevier.com; Web site: http://www.elsevier.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Brazil
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Raven Progressive Matrices
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A