Rina has been driving her private car for quite some years. She is also not an introverted personality. She drives a lot and moves out a lot. Yet, she encounters frequent problems of locating her friends’ place accurately and timely. She also makes error in parking her car. Her folks are worried, yet problem continues.
Looking at Rina’s problem, many people would hasten to add that Rina is not a solitary case. This problem is common with girls and women. Is there any scientific validity for this assertion?
The scientific research on the question of spatial-visual ability clearly shows a male advantage. Of course, the gap between men and women with respect to spatial-visual ability is gradually being narrowed. Yet, a gap exists and women demonstrate poorer spatial-visual ability compared with men. There may be exceptional cases where women surpass. But men surpass woman on the skills of spatial-visual nature.
Although girls and women perform as well on standard intelligence tests at par with boys and men, component-wise analysis shows that boys and men perform better on picture assembly and figure puzzle. These subtests are indicators of spatial-visual ability.
However, the fundamental question involves: Why? At an analytical level the answer could be offered in terms of neurological (physiological) terms. It is accepted that specific neural centres of the brain are responsible for particular functions. Just as there are specific brain centres for our visual function, there are also particular centres for spatial-visual perception. It could be argued that such centres are more developed in man than in woman’s brain.
Although the explanation sounds reasonable, another question of deeper level arises. How did this difference originate in the first place?
Brain is not a static and unchanged structural entity. In the process of evolution, it has changed. It has also changed in response to altering environmental conditions. Accordingly evolutionary psychologists have provided a satisfactory explanation in this context.
According to evolutionary psychologists, life started differently for men and women. At the primitive stage, males were basically hunters. Females were basically fruit-gatherers. This induced a change at the neurophysiological level.
The activity of hunting surely required adaptive skills of spatial nature. If hunters can not discriminate various textures of land, it would spell danger for them. For hunting and fishing effectively, one needs to have good spatial-visual discrimination. Discrimination of various types of trees, identification of different forms of flora and fauna, assessment of distance and evaluation of sizes and shapes are functional aspect of a hunter. Thus, hunters had to develop spatial visual ability for their survival and adaptation. It facilitated the growth of spatial centres in male brain. Females, on the contrary, were concerned with fruit gathering. Accordingly the brain was equipped with location memory.
This analysis from evolutionary point of view clearly suggests the explanation of males’ superior spatial skill. The same explanation further suggests that the gap is decreasing because women are now accepting new roles. The scientific evidence has also clearly shown that the male advantage with respect to spatial skill is not as pronounced these days as it was in the past.
Looking at Rina’s problem, many people would hasten to add that Rina is not a solitary case. This problem is common with girls and women. Is there any scientific validity for this assertion?
The scientific research on the question of spatial-visual ability clearly shows a male advantage. Of course, the gap between men and women with respect to spatial-visual ability is gradually being narrowed. Yet, a gap exists and women demonstrate poorer spatial-visual ability compared with men. There may be exceptional cases where women surpass. But men surpass woman on the skills of spatial-visual nature.
Although girls and women perform as well on standard intelligence tests at par with boys and men, component-wise analysis shows that boys and men perform better on picture assembly and figure puzzle. These subtests are indicators of spatial-visual ability.
However, the fundamental question involves: Why? At an analytical level the answer could be offered in terms of neurological (physiological) terms. It is accepted that specific neural centres of the brain are responsible for particular functions. Just as there are specific brain centres for our visual function, there are also particular centres for spatial-visual perception. It could be argued that such centres are more developed in man than in woman’s brain.
Although the explanation sounds reasonable, another question of deeper level arises. How did this difference originate in the first place?
Brain is not a static and unchanged structural entity. In the process of evolution, it has changed. It has also changed in response to altering environmental conditions. Accordingly evolutionary psychologists have provided a satisfactory explanation in this context.
According to evolutionary psychologists, life started differently for men and women. At the primitive stage, males were basically hunters. Females were basically fruit-gatherers. This induced a change at the neurophysiological level.
The activity of hunting surely required adaptive skills of spatial nature. If hunters can not discriminate various textures of land, it would spell danger for them. For hunting and fishing effectively, one needs to have good spatial-visual discrimination. Discrimination of various types of trees, identification of different forms of flora and fauna, assessment of distance and evaluation of sizes and shapes are functional aspect of a hunter. Thus, hunters had to develop spatial visual ability for their survival and adaptation. It facilitated the growth of spatial centres in male brain. Females, on the contrary, were concerned with fruit gathering. Accordingly the brain was equipped with location memory.
This analysis from evolutionary point of view clearly suggests the explanation of males’ superior spatial skill. The same explanation further suggests that the gap is decreasing because women are now accepting new roles. The scientific evidence has also clearly shown that the male advantage with respect to spatial skill is not as pronounced these days as it was in the past.