Sex Differences in Adults’ Spatial Ability: Influences of Spatial Experiences and Affective Factors

by Carlos J. Desme

Spatial ability plays a crucial role in how we understand, navigate, and interact with our environment (Yilmaz, 2009). It involves the capacity to mentally manipulate two- and three-dimensional objects, infer spatial relationships, visualize movements, and comprehend object transformations (Lohman, 2013). This dissertation explores why there are sex differences in spatial abilities, focusing on both large-scale (extrinsic; e.g., perspective-taking/spatial orientation) tasks and small-scale (intrinsic; e.g., mental rotation) tests. Specifically, it examines how social and affective factors contribute to sex differences.

Chapter 1 presents a comprehensive literature review on sex differences in spatial ability, framed within a developmental systems theory perspective. This review considers both well-established and underexplored factors that may explain spatial ability performance. Chapter 2 introduces an empirical study designed to investigate interactions among key predictors of sex differences in mental rotation test (MRT) performance using structural equation modeling (SEM). These predictors include engagement with designated spatial activities, spatial anxiety, and confidence, all contextualized within an individual’s developmental trajectory. Findings indicate that one’s biological sex influences engagement with spatial activities in childhood, levels of spatial anxiety in emerging adulthood, and confidence in performing MRT. Chapter 3 describes a second empirical study involving two mediation models. The first model tests whether confidence mediates the relation between biological sex and MRT performance, while the second examines whether confidence mediates the relation between sex and perspective-taking/spatial orientation (PTSOT). The results demonstrate that confidence significantly mediates the relation between biological sex and spatial ability outcomes.

Overall, this dissertation contributes to the field of spatial ability research by replicating known findings and identifying novel predictors of sex differences across both intrinsic (small-scale) and extrinsic (large-scale) spatial domains. Importantly, it integrates a developmental theoretical framework with empirical studies to provide a comprehensive view of how sex differences in spatial ability may emerge and evolve across the lifespan.