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Monday, February 28, 2005Intelligence tests have found that men, on average, perform better on spatial tasks that require mentally manipulating objects. Men also do better on tests of mathematical reasoning. Women tend to do better on tasks requiring verbal memory and distinguishing whether objects are similar. The relative strengths tend to even out, studies indicate. If men do have a slight advantage in math ability, is the difference really biological, or are exceptional girls and women intimidated by cultural stereotypes and discouraged from cultivating their talents from an early age? ''If I had to guess, the real reason for the lack of women in the upper strata is that there's a comfort zone when you walk into a classroom and see a certain number of people like you,' said Aronson, the New York University professor. Female physicists and engineers almost always live their entire professional lives outside that comfort zone. Aronson and his colleagues have shown that many of the performance differences between men and women, and among races, can be erased with minor adjustments that influence test-takers' confidence. ''This suggests there's something about the testing situation itself,' Aronson said. ''If there is a biological difference, then it's one that's awfully easy to overcome.' posted by Sydney on 2/28/2005 08:11:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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