PY 371 Lecture 13 Outline of Last Lecture I. Gender StereotypesOutline of Current Lecture II. The sexes: more similar than different III. Psychology of sex differencesIV. Meta-analysisV. Spatial AbilitiesCurrent LectureThe Sexes: More similar than different?- Men and women have more in common than not- Why do sexes seem so different?o Confirmatory hypothesis testing- Even with significant mean differences, distributions of scores for males and females often overlapMaccoby and Jacklin’s (1974) psychology of sex differences- First comprehensive review concluded that only four domains showed sex differenceso Verbal ability (girls), visual-spatial ability, mathematical ability, and aggression (boys)o No differences in self esteem- Many problems with their review (Block, 1976)o Narrative reviewo Averaged across studies that varied widely in methodological rigoro Age bias, 70 percent were under 12; gender intensification during adolescence - Blocks’ reviews added some domains to the listo Block found that males were more active, more impulsive, and had stronger self- concepto Females had greater fears and anxieties, less confidence, and closer contact with friends (more social connection)New Way to Review Studies: Meta-analysisThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- Meta-analysis is a tool that quantifies results of a group of studies- Both significance and size of the difference- Effect size, d statistic (Cohen, 1977)o .2 = small effect, <1% varianto .5 = medium effect, <6% varianto .8 = large effect, <14% variant- Even very small effects can be meaningful; depends on outcome (Rosenthal, 1944)- Advantageso considers the size of the effects so not all studies are weighed similarlyo can examine the influence of moderating variables- disadvantageso exclusionary criteria are subjectiveo file drawer problem- studies that are not significant and do not get published- review of 46 meta-analyses (Hyde, 2005)o most effects small or very largeo exception: large effect sizes for throwing velocity, attitudes toward sex, and physical aggressionSpatial Abilities- refer to ability to think and reason using mental images rather than words- people assume men have greater spatial abilities- directions and magnitude of sex differences depend on the specific taskSex Differences in Spatial Abilities- greatest difference on mental rotation (men)- women solve problems in pieces (takes more time)- men also excel in accuracy at hitting a target - sex differences more likely appear today on older than young children- women outperform men on object location tasks- spatial skills important for “STEM” careersMathematical Ability- people assume that men have greater math skills - sex differences in math in the general population are small to zero and decreasing over time- in contrast, among highly talented youth, sex differences in math ability are substantialo Due to mental rotation skills?- Gender gap closing on SAT math scores- Females get higher math grades in schoolo Due to orientations toward schoolwork?- Males have a more positive attitude toward