The Evolution of Sex Differences in Spatial Ability

• Published in: Behavioral neuroscience Vol. 117; no. 3; pp. 403 - 411
• Main Authors: Jones, Catherine M, Braithwaite, Victoria A, Healy, Susan D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-06-2003
• Subjects: Animal; Animal ethology; Animal Sex Differences; Animals; Aptitude - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Evolution; Cognition & reasoning; Evolution; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Human Sex Differences; Humans; Male; Mammalia; Natural Selection; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Sex Characteristics; Sexes; Spatial Ability; Spatial Behavior - physiology; Theory of Evolution; Vertebrata; Feeding behavior; Home range; Biological evolution; Problem solving; Spatial ability; Selection pressure; Cognition; Mate selection; Review; Sexual dimorphism; Foraging behavior; Breeding behavior
• ISSN: 0735-7044; 1939-0084
• DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.117.3.403

It is widely believed that male mammals have better spatial ability than females. A large number of evolutionary hypotheses have been proposed to explain these differences, but few species have been tested. The authors critically review the proposed evolutionary explanations for sex differences in spatial cognition and conclude that most of the hypotheses are either logically flawed or, as yet, have no substantial support. Few of the data exclusively support or exclude any current hypotheses. The hypothesis with the strongest support proposes that range size was the selection pressure that acted to increase spatial ability. The authors suggest ways in which these hypotheses could be tested by presenting explicit predictions and suggesting suitable test species or conditions.