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Sex Differences in Cognitive Development

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Synonyms

Intellectual differences between boys and girls, gender characteristics of cognition during childhood

Definition

The differences between boy and girls in cognitive development

Introduction

A diversity of studies in psychology and neuropsychology has approached the question of gender differences in cognitive abilities (e.g., Bjorklund and Causey 2017). Three major gender differences in cognitive abilities have been reported: (1) higher verbal abilities in women, (2) higher spatial abilities in men, and (3) higher arithmetical abilities in men. However, these three differences may be collapsed in only two as differences in calculation abilities may be the result of men’s superior spatial abilities (Geary 1996).

Women usually score higher in a variety of verbal tests (e.g., Burton et al. 2005). They also present a faster language development (Berglund et al. 2005) and have a larger vocabulary, more accurate speech production, and greater fluency (Mildner 2008).

Gender Differences...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Alfredo Ardila

  2. Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL, USA

    Monica Rosselli

Authors
  1. Alfredo Ardila
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  2. Monica Rosselli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alfredo Ardila .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of South Carolina - Beaufort, Bluffton, SC, USA

    Carey Fitzgerald

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Ardila, A., Rosselli, M. (2018). Sex Differences in Cognitive Development. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3636-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3636-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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