Math Ability/Performance:
Spatial Ability
Abstracts

The relationship between mental rotation ability and gender differences in Scholastic Aptitude Test - Math (SAT-M) across diverse samples was investigated. Talented preadolescents, college students, and high- and low-ability college-bound youths, totaling 760, were administered the Vandenberg Mental Rotation Test. Gender comparisons showed male outperforming female students in both mental rotation and SAT-M for all 3 high-ability groups but not for the low-ability group. For all female samples, mental rotation predicted math aptitude even when SAT - Verbal was entered first into the regression. For male samples, the relationship varied as a function of sample. When mental rotation ability was statistically adjusted for, the significant gender difference in SAT-M was eliminated for the college sample and the high-ability college-bound students. This suggests that spatial ability may be responsible in part for mediating gender differences in math aptitude among these groups COPYRIGHT American Psychological Association Inc. 1995

A meta-analysis of the relationship of spatial and mathematical skills reveals no significant correlation between these two but correlations between verbal and mathematical skills are stronger. The correlations between females and math-space correlations are higher in selected samples and the relationship becomes much more apparent with greater selectivity. Female students who are attending college or aiming for higher studies possess greater spatial and mathematical skills than males. The study is based on journal articles and dissertation studies on math-spatial relationship that appeared between 1950 and 1990 and which dealt with test correlations

The authors show that sex differences on the mental rotations test that were present under strictly timed conditions could be removed by giving the test under un-timed conditions. They questioned whether the test was actually measuring "ability" or if it might be reflecting speed instead.