Deck 7: Cognitive Abilities and Aptitudes

Question 1

Which of the following spatial abilities does not show the typical male advantage?

A) mental rotation
B) spatial perception
C) spatial memory
D) visualization

Answer 1

spatial memory

Question 2

What comments regarding the underrepresentation of women in science--made by former Harvard president, Lawrence Summers--sparked controversy at a 2005 conference, ultimately leading to his resignation?

A) that sexism is virtually nonexistent in modern society
B) that men have greater natural aptitudes at the highest levels of math and science
C) that women are socialized to pursue more communal occupations
D) that women are less competitive and thus less likely to excel at the highest levels of science

Answer 2

that men have greater natural aptitudes at the highest levels of math and science

Question 3

Reilly (2012) found the size of sex difference in reading ability correlates with ______.

A) age
B) national indices of gender equality
C) indicators of women's health
D) the size of sex differences in math abilities

Answer 3

national indices of gender equality

Question 4

What best describes what the bulk of research shows regarding sex differences in general mental ability?

A) consistent, but small differences favoring males
B) small differences that do not consistently favor particular sex
C) differences favoring females prior to puberty and small differences favoring males thereafter
D) consistent, but small differences favoring females

Question 5

Each of the following are TRUE of the intelligence quotient EXCEPT ______.

A) IQ scores have been increasing each decade.
B) It is a standardized score, calculated relative to one's peers.
C) It fluctuates vastly throughout adulthood.
D) Items in IQ tests that produce sex differences are typically replaced.

Question 6

Which area of verbal ability is an exception to the typical female advantage?

A) vocabulary
B) reading
C) verbal reasoning
D) writing

Question 7

Anthony Jorm and colleagues (2004) discovered what variables help explain sex differences in cognitive tests?

A) men's better health on dimensions such as pulmonary functioning and exercise frequency
B) men's better access to higher education
C) lower levels of self-esteem in women during adulthood
D) the anxiety inducing effects of stereotype threat during test taking

Question 8

What best summarizes the evidence on sex differences in math ability?

A) Across different types of math ability, the effect size of sex differences is consistently zero.
B) Moderate sex differences favoring males emerge in both older and more recent meta-analyses.
C) When meta-analyses control for gender equality, consistent sex differences favoring women emerge.
D) Small differences favoring boys sometimes emerge in complex math problems, but these gaps virtually disappear with greater gender equality.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT true of sex differences in mental rotation?

A) They appear in infancy.
B) They are consistent across culture.
C) They are sensitive to experimental manipulations such as activating feelings of power in women.
D) Effect sizes are smaller in countries with greater gender equality.

Question 10

Which of the following shows moderate to large sex differences favoring males?

A) verbal reasoning
B) math ability
C) spatial ability
D) memory

Question 11

Psychologists at the end of the 19th century attempted to make a scientific case for women's intellectual inferiority based upon what questionable assumption?

A) The mass and volume of the brain reflects differences in intelligence.
B) Testosterone is linked to neural development.
C) Emotions interfere with abstract reasoning and logical deduction.
D) That there is more variance in men's intelligence, leading to higher proportions of men in the tale ends of the distribution.

Question 12

What best summarizes the evidence on sex differences in verbal ability?

A) Verbal skills consistently favor females across all meta-analyses.
B) Sex differences are small, tend to favor girls, and depend upon type of verbal ability.
C) Sex differences vary greatly, with some areas favoring males and others favoring females by large margins.
D) More recent meta-analyses have found close-to-zero effect sizes across all types of verbal abilities.

Question 13

Explaining the underrepresentation of women in STEM with sex differences in preferences, expectations, and competitiveness represents an appeal to ______.

A) nature
B) nurture
C) legitimizing ideologies
D) a mix of nature and nurture

Question 14

Following Thurston and Thurston's (1941) factor analysis of intelligence tests, what three dimensions of cognitive abilities have dominated explorations of sex differences?

A) social, introspective, and integrative
B) inductive, deductive, and probabilistic
C) abstract, concrete, and communicative
D) verbal, quantitative, and spatial

Question 15

Which of the following best describes Charles Spearman's view of intelligence?

A) Intelligence scores are indicative of educational success but lack predictive validity in the real world.
B) Mental ability fluctuates throughout adulthood and is difficult to measure reliably.
C) Intelligence is domain specific and is dependent on the subject matter.
D) Individuals possess a general mental ability related to their performance on all cognitive tasks.

Question 16

While the average performance of adolescent boys on ______ in the United States exceeds the girls, girls consistently outperform boys when it comes to ______.

A) problem solving; spatial reasoning
B) verbal tests, math tests
C) standardized verbal tests, school English grades
D) standardized math tests; school math grades

Question 17

Being able to identify whether or not a surface is truly level is an example of ______.

A) mental rotation
B) spatial perception
C) spatial visualization
D) spatial location memory

Question 18

Examples of cognitive abilities include all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) attention
B) speaking
C) openness to new experience
D) problem solving

Question 19

______ is the general capacity to understand ideas, think abstractly, reason, solve problems, and learn.

A) Cognitive aptitude
B) Intelligence
C) Abstract reasoning
D) Agency

Question 20

Which of the following is evidence for a nurture explanation of sex differences in spatial ability?

A) Reading and writing are more highly emphasized in girls' early education.
B) Boys tend to play more games that involve hand eye coordination.
C) Differences in prenatal hormones influence the formation of brain structures related to spatial ability.
D) Twin studies indicate that spatial skills, such as mental rotation, are highly heritable.

Question 21

Which of the following is an example of environment shaping biology to affect cognitive ability?

A) effect size
B) group average
C) p-value
D) confidence interval

Question 22

Overall, meta-analyses suggest sex differences favoring females on test of most ______ abilities and sex differences favoring males on tests of most ______ abilities.

A) math; verbal
B) verbal; math
C) verbal; spatial
D) math; spatial

Question 23

Evans and colleagues (2002) examination of academic interest and knowledge across 11th graders in Taiwan, Japan, and the United States found which of the following?

A) smaller sex differences in math favoring boys in Taiwan and Japan
B) East Asian girls outperformance girls in the United States on math
C) decreased math performance for boys in Taiwan and Japan
D) overall higher academic performance in the United States

Question 24

Consider Larry Summers' assertion that the underrepresentation of women in science is partly due to sex differences in the natural variability of cognitive abilities. What does the research on sex differences in cognitive abilities say about the truth of Summers' statement?

A) Some evidence does suggest greater male variability, but we lack evidence that such variability is explained by nature alone.
B) Meta-analyses indicate that differences in variability are either near zero or entirely dependent upon country and ethnicity.
C) Contrary to the controversy, research actually supports Summers' comments. Research does point to greater male variability that is unexplained by culture.
D) The existing evidence is too inconsistent and variable to definitively reject or support Summers' statements.

Question 25

Meluish and colleagues (2008) found that all of the following at ages 3-4 predicted math achievement at age 10 better than child's sex EXCEPT ______.

A) home learning environment
B) number of friends
C) mother's education
D) primary school effectiveness

Question 26

Based on the proposed mechanisms of stereotype threat, which of the following women is less likely to experience effects of stereotype threat upon math performance?

A) women in countries with relatively less gender equality
B) women who have a high working memory capacity
C) women who also have high spatial abilities
D) women with larger temporal parietal lobes

Question 27

What best describes the relative contributions of biology and environment to cognitive ability according to Diane Halpern's biopsychosocial model?

A) Biological factors cause people select certain experiences and environments that affect cognitive ability.
B) Differences in biological structures related to cognitive abilities are caused one's learning experiences.
C) Biological and environmental factors both affect cognitive abilities separately and independent of one another.
D) Biology and environment both cause changes in one another, mutually shaping each other to produce changes in cognitive abilities.

Question 28

Roberts (1991) presents evidence that men are more likely than women to respond to feedback by ______.

A) ignoring negative comments and focusing on the positive ones
B) being responsive and changing behavior accordingly
C) internalizing failures and externalizing successes
D) increasing effort

Question 29

Beyond looking at differences in mean scores, researchers also compare the ______ for each sex to examine sex differences in cognitive abilities.

A) intragroup reliabilities
B) covariances
C) Between group variance
D) Within group variance

Question 30

A test asking participants to generate as many words that fit in a given category (e.g., birds) would be an example of a measure of ______.

A) writing
B) verbal reasoning
C) verbal fluency
D) verbal memory

Question 31

Which of the following would be the best strategy for buffering against the effects of stereotype threats?

A) ensuring the source of the threat is subtle rather than blatant
B) telling women that sex differences result from biology rather than environment
C) increasing the salience of social identity rather than individual identity
D) writing about personal values or activities you excel at prior to taking a test

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT true of evidence related to the greater male variability hypothesis?

A) Boys are more likely than girls to be diagnosed with learning disabilities.
B) The male to female ratio of top scoring test-takers in the United States has declined over time.
C) It does not emerge in some countries.
D) It holds consistently for people of every ethic group.

Question 33

Which of the following is TRUE of the relationship between parents' and children's math anxiety?

A) interventions to prevent parents' anxiety from affecting children's anxiety work better for boys than girls
B) children with parents high in math anxiety show lower math anxiety if their parents help them with homework
C) completing structured math activities with their children can prevent parents' math anxiety from increasing their children's math anxiety
D) children are more likely to increase effort in math when parents have high math anxiety

Question 34

What evidence has Jacquelynne Eccles found over here career for differences in achievement motivation producing differences in math performance?

A) Boys are generally more motivated to have greater academic achievements.
B) Girls are more likely to increase effort in response to academic failures.
C) Boys are more likely to increase effort in response to academic failures.
D) She finds no evidence that girls or boys are more likely to give up following academic failures.

Question 35

Greater variability among males in math ability would suggest what regarding sex differences?

A) The distribution of math ability for women will be flatter, with a less pronounced "Bell" shape.
B) Sex differences favoring females will be more likely to emerge on complex math tests.
C) There will be higher proportions of men at both tail ends of the distribution for math ability.
D) Men will tend to cluster more towards the center of the bell curve for math ability.

Question 36

One study by Baldiga (2013) found that women's lower performance on the SAT may be partly due to less willingness to ______.

A) double-check their responses
B) skip questions that they don't know the answers too
C) provide the same response repeatedly if it makes the answer choices appear nonrandom
D) guess on questions

Question 37

_______ is one proposed environmental factor that may partly explain women's higher math anxiety relative to men.

A) Gender identity threats
B) Androgen exposure
C) Gender harassment
D) Stereotype threat

Question 38

East Asian cultures tend to emphasize ______ learning; whereas Western cultural typically stress ______ learning.

A) intrinsically motivated; achievement based
B) achievement based; intrinsically motivated
C) interest-based; effort-based
D) effort-based; interest-based

Question 39

Of all cognitive domains, ______ performance shows the greatest variability in sex differences from culture to culture.

A) verbal
B) math
C) spatial
D) memory

Question 40

Which type of cues tend elicit larger stereotype threat effects?

A) subtle
B) blatant
C) nonconscious
D) explicit

Question 41

Larger sex differences in reading ability tend to emerge in countries with greater gender equality.

Question 42

When there is a great deal of variability within groups then effect sizes tend to be smaller.

Question 43

Researchers examining the extent that teachers' attitudes influence children's math attitudes has found all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) Teachers' expectations of their students' math abilities are primarily driven by stereotypes.
B) Teachers' gender stereotypes about math can influence students' gender stereotypes.
C) Teachers' perceptions of their students' math abilities tend to be accurate.
D) Teachers' beliefs about their students math potential predicts students interest for both males and females.

Question 44

Greater within group variance among tests for men's cognitive abilities means there will be fewer men among the top scorers on cognitive tests and fewer among the lowest.

Question 45

Sex differences favoring males in mental rotation range from moderate to large.

Question 46

Women tend to prefer activities and jobs that emphasize ______.

A) abstract reasoning
B) interpersonal skills
C) the use of fine motor skills
D) working with machines

Question 47

Research studying discrimination in hiring in STEM fields would predict what kind of bias when employers evaluate male and female candidates with equal qualifications?

A) a strong hiring bias favoring women
B) a strong hiring bias favoring men
C) Researcher has found no evidence of bias in either direction.
D) Predictions based upon the literature are difficult because studies have found hiring biases in both directions.

Question 48

One study cited in this chapter found that interest in STEM careers correlated negatively with ______ goals.

A) extrinsically motivated
B) intrinsically motivated
C) agentic
D) communal

Question 49

Men and women do not differ significantly in average levels of general intelligence.

Question 50

Sex differences favoring males in tests of quantitative ability are found consistently across culture.

Question 51

The literature examining gender discrimination in STEM has found each of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) women are more likely to experience hostile and benevolent sexism
B) faculty evaluating hypothetical job candidates prefer female applicants at a 2:1 ratio over male candidates
C) participants are twice as likely to hire a male candidate for a job that requires math
D) female and male science professors view male lab manager applicants as more competent than female applicants

Question 52

Verbal reasoning is an exception to the general trend toward female advantage in verbal abilities.

Question 53

Examining males' and females' interests within different STEM sub-disciplines reveals what pattern?

A) Males show more interest in all STEM disciplines.
B) Females show more interest in STEM disciplines that emphasize agency and autonomy.
C) Females are more likely to take STEM classes that are less math-intensive.
D) Males are more likely to take STEM classes that involve interpersonal interactions.

Question 54

Boys consistently outperform girls when it comes to school math grades.

Question 55

All of the following are TRUE of women's representation in STEM fields EXCEPT ______.

A) 26% of workers in STEM fields were women in 2011
B) women's representation in STEM fields is currently decreasing
C) women earned 40% of all doctorates in the sciences and engineering in 2006
D) women constitute about 8% of full professors in both the physical sciences and mathematics

Question 56

Evidence supporting the greater male variability hypothesis cannot be explained by environmental factors.

Question 57

Robertson and colleagues (2010) followed top-performing math and science students from youth through adulthood, finding what work related difference as subjects reached their mid-30s?

A) Men and women divide labor in and outside the home roughly equally with their partners.
B) Women were willing to work fewer hours due to increased family obligations.
C) Women reported less job satisfaction in jobs demanding more than 40 hr work weeks.
D) Men preferred jobs that limited their ability to be present in the home.

Question 58

Women seeking success in STEM often disproportionately face what additional responsibility compared to men?

A) household labor
B) finance management
C) committee work
D) mentoring

Question 59

Making gender salient during testing can lower women's math performance.

Question 60

Each of the following pose possible explanations for women's underrepresentation in STEM EXCEPT ______.

A) discrimination
B) differences in average levels general intelligence
C) gendered family responsibilities
D) differences in interests and preferences

Question 61

Jorm and colleagues (2004) found that controlling for men's better health and what effects on sex differences?

Question 62

Explain how greater male variability on cognitive tests would impact sex differences on those tests.

Question 63

Briefly describe differences in how men and women respond to feedback.

Question 64

What is stereotype threat, how does it operate, and how might it affect women's performance on certain cognitive tests? What are some examples of factors that moderate the effects of stereotype threat and describe what can be done to diminish its effects.

Question 65

Evidence of gender discrimination consistently points to clear biases favoring men in hiring and promotion across STEM fields.

Question 66

Research shows that girls are more likely to give up after academic failures than boys.

Question 67

Asking how negative stereotypes about women's math abilities can artificially lower their math performance is a good example of someone operating from the female deficit model.

Question 68

How consistent are sex differences in math, verbal, and visual-spatial performance across culture? How does the cross-cultural consistency of these differences relate to the nature versus nurture debate?

Question 69

How does Diane Halpern's biopsychosocial model describe the relationship between biology and environment in explaining sex differences in cognitive ability?

Question 70

Describe two factors that influence the size of stereotype threat effects.

Question 71

What is the typical sex difference in visual-spatial skills? Describe one piece of evidence supporting a nurture explanation of this difference and one piece of evidence supporting a nature explanation.

Question 72

Describe the current state of women's representation in STEM fields. Describe three different possible explanations for the current state of women's representation in STEM. Discuss at least one study showing evidence relevant to each of the explanations you provide.

Question 73

On average, women's STEM careers are more impacted than men's by family household responsibilities.

Question 74

Children of parents with math anxiety are more likely to exhibit math anxiety themselves, but only if their parents frequently help them with their homework.

Question 75

What are the three different areas of cognitive ability that researchers have examined extensively for sex differences? Describe the size and direction of sex differences within each of these areas. Note if there any exceptions to the general sex differences observed within each of these three domains of cognitive ability and why they do not display the typical sex difference.