A Cognitive-Process Taxonomy for Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities

Females and males show different average patterns of academic achievement and scores on cognitive ability tests. Females obtain higher grades in school, score much higher on tests of writing and content-area tests on which the questions are similar to material that was learned in school, attain a majority of college degrees, and are closing the gap in many careers that were traditionally male. By contrast, males score higher on standardized tests of mathematics and science that are not directly tied to their school curriculum, show a large advantage on visuospatial tests (especially those that involve judgments of velocity and navigation through three-dimensional space), and are much more knowledgeable about geography and politics. A cognitive-process taxonomy can shed light on these differences. KEYWORDS—cognitive abilities; sex differences; academic achievement As Bob Dylan wrote in 1964, ‘‘The times they are a-changin’.’’ Every industrialized country in the world is on the cusp of one of the most profound social changes in history, with women entering and, in some cases, dominating professions that have been primarily male, including law, medicine, accounting, and veterinary practice. But women have been slow to enter jobs that require strenuous physical labor, as well as jobs in the technical fields and the physical sciences, and far fewer men are entering traditionally female occupations, such as clerical work, or occupations that require direct personal care, such as child care. Predictions about future trends in employment can be made by looking at the statistics for educational pipelines. A substantial majority of college students are women; American women have received more college degrees than men every year since 1982, and the gap is widening every year. Among persons between 25 and 34 years old, 33% of women have completed college, compared with 29% of men. In addition, women get higher grades in school in every subject area. Women are still enrolled disproportionately in the humanities, social sciences, and education (Willingham & Cole, 1997). These changes in the work lives of women and men raise the question: Why are some fields, such as engineering and physics, still dominated by men, while others, such as business, economics, veterinary medicine, and accounting, are now majority-female fields (among young adults)? At the heart of this question is the basic search to understand how women and men are similar and different. For cognitive psychologists, this is a question about intelligence and the relationship among cognitive abilities, academic achievement, being female or male, and career choice. THE POLITICS AND PSYCHOLOGY OF GROUP