Chapter 7: Cognitive Abilities and Aptitudes

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. 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

Learning Objective: 7.1: Explain the historical origins of research on sex differences in cognitive abilities.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Cognitive Abilities and Aptitudes

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Examples of cognitive abilities include which of the following?

A. interpersonal skills

B. attentive listening

C. openness to new experience

D. problem-solving

Learning Objective: 7.1: Explain the historical origins of research on sex differences in cognitive abilities.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Cognitive Abilities and Aptitudes

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. While the average performance of adolescent boys on ______ in the United States slightly exceeds that of adolescent 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

Learning Objective: 7.1: Explain the historical origins of research on sex differences in cognitive abilities.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Cognitive Abilities and Aptitudes

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. Examining sex differences in cognitive domains requires the consideration of ______.

A. nature

B. nurture

C. legitimizing ideologies

D. a mix of nature and nurture

Learning Objective: 7.1: Explain the historical origins of research on sex differences in cognitive abilities.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer location: Cognitive Abilities and Aptitudes

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. Cognitive aptitude

B. Intelligence

C. Abstract reasoning

D. Agency

Learning Objective: 7.1: Explain the historical origins of research on sex differences in cognitive abilities.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Cognitive Ability?

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. 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. There is more variance in men’s intelligence, leading to higher proportions of men in the tail ends of the distribution.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Cognitive Ability?

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Which of the following represents the misuse of IQ tests that contributed to the forced sterilization of individuals thought to be genetically “inferior?”

A. essentialism

B. phrenology

C. eugenics

D. pseudoscience

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What is Cognitive Ability?

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. 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.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sex Differences in General Mental Ability

Difficulty Level: Hard

9. 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 one particular sex

C. differences favoring females prior to puberty and small differences favoring males thereafter

D. consistent but small differences favoring females

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sex Differences in General Mental Ability

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. 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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Are the Sex Differences and Similarities in Cognitive Abilities?

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. 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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Are the Sex Differences and Similarities in Cognitive Abilities?

Difficulty Level: Easy

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 to moderate, tend to favor girls, and depend upon the 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.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Verbal Performance

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. vocabulary

B. reading

C. verbal reasoning

D. writing

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Verbal Performance

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Researchers have 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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Verbal Performance

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. 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.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Quantitative Performance

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. verbal reasoning

B. math ability

C. spatial ability

D. memory

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Visual-Spatial Performance

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. 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.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Visual-Spatial Performance

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. mental rotation

B. spatial perception

C. spatial memory

D. visualization

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Visual-Spatial Performance

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. Which of the following is TRUE of sex differences in mental rotation?

A. They appear in adolescence.

B. They vary across cultures.

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.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Visual-Spatial Performance

Difficulty Level: Easy

20. 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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Visual-Spatial Performance

Difficulty Level: Easy

21. 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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Are the Sex Differences and Similarities in Cognitive Abilities?

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. 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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Verbal Performance

Difficulty Level: Easy

23. 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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sex Differences in the Variability of Cognitive Abilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. 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 toward the center of the bell curve for math ability.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sex Differences in the Variability of Cognitive Abilities

Difficulty Level: Hard

25. Which of the following is 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 increased over time.

C. It emerges in every country.

D. It holds consistently for people of every ethnic group.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sex Differences in the Variability of Cognitive Abilities

Difficulty Level: Easy

26. Consider Larry Summers’s 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’s 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’s 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’s statements.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sex Differences in the Variability of Cognitive Abilities

Difficulty Level: Hard

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 to 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. Both biology and environment cause changes in one another, mutually shaping each other to produce changes in cognitive abilities.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Do Individual Differences and Context Influence Cognitive Performance?

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

A. verbal

B. math

C. spatial

D. memory

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Culture, Race, and Educational Access

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. Which of the following describes what Ladson-Billings calls the education debt?

A. the accumulation of student loan debt accrued by university graduates

B. the systematic lack of resources and opportunities for girls to learn and gain skills in stem through the educational system

C. the ongoing, cumulative lack of investment in the education of low-income and racial minority students

D. the lack of diversity in educators for minority and low-income communities

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Culture, Race, and Educational Access

Difficulty Level: Easy

30. ______ 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

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Math Anxiety

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. 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

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Math Anxiety

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. Which type of cues tends elicit larger stereotype threat effects?

A. subtle

B. blatant

C. nonconscious

D. explicit

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Math Anxiety

Difficulty Level: Easy

33. Which of the following has been shown to predict lower math performance in girls?

A. having an older brother

B. having high levels of stereotype threat

C. identifying strongly with math

D. teachers’ math anxieties

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Math Anxiety

Difficulty Level: Medium

34. Berkowitz and colleagues (2015) tried an intervention aimed to reduce what in first graders and their parents?

A. gender bias

B. family conflict

C. stereotype threat

D. math anxiety

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Math Anxiety

Difficulty Level: Medium

35. What evidence has Jacquelynne Eccles found over her 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 are more likely to give up following academic failures.

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Achievement Motivation and Sensitivity to Feedback

Difficulty Level: Easy

36. 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

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Achievement Motivation and Sensitivity to Feedback

Difficulty Level: Easy

37. 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

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Education and School Performance

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. 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 outperform 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

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Education and School Performance

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. Meluish and colleagues (2008) found that which of the following at ages 3–4 predicted math achievement at age 10?

A. home learning environment

B. number of friends

C. father’s education

D. neighborhood

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Education and School Performance

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. 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.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Education and School Performance

Difficulty Level: Hard

41. Researchers examining the extent that teachers’ attitudes influence children’s math attitudes have found which of the following?

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 inaccurate.

D. Teachers’ beliefs about their students’ math potential predict girls’ interest in math across elementary years, but not boys’.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Education and School Performance

Difficulty Level: Easy

42. Which of the following is TRUE of women’s representation in STEM fields?

A. About 50% of workers in STEM fields were women in 2015.

B. Women’s representation in STEM fields is currently decreasing.

C. Women earned 5% 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.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Medium

43. 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 are difficult because studies have found hiring biases in both directions.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Easy

44. The literature examining gender discrimination in STEM has found which of the following?

A. Women are likely to experience hostile sexism in STEM fields.

B. Faculty evaluating hypothetical job candidates prefer male applicants at a 2:1 ratio over female candidates.

C. Participants are twice as likely to hire a male candidate for a job that requires math.

D. Male science professors view male lab manager applicants as more competent than female applicants, but female science professors show no preference in this regard.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Medium

45. 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

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Easy

46. 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

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Easy

47. Examining males’ and females’ interests within different STEM subdisciplines 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.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Hard

48. 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 inside 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.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Medium

49. 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

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Medium

50. Which of the following is a misconception about why women are underrepresented in STEM?

A. discrimination

B. differences in average levels of general intelligence

C. gendered family responsibilities

D. differences in interests and preferences

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

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

Learning Objective: 7.1: Explain the historical origins of research on sex differences in cognitive abilities.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sex Differences in General Mental Ability

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cognitive Abilities and Aptitudes

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Cognitive Abilities and Aptitudes

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Verbal Performance

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Quantitative Performance

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Quantitative Performance

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sex Differences in the Variability of Cognitive Abilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Sex Differences in the Variability of Cognitive Abilities

Answer Location: Overlap and Variance

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. 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.

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sex Differences in the Variability of Cognitive Abilities

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Reminding girls of gender stereotypes before an exam can lower women’s math performance.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Math Anxiety

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. Girls tend to have more math anxiety in general than boys.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Math Anxiety

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Achievement Motivation and Sensitivity to Feedback

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. 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.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Math Anxiety

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Easy

Short Answer

1. Jorm and colleagues (2004) found that controlling for physical and mental health variables in men had what effect on sex differences?

Learning Objective: 7.1: Explain the historical origins of research on sex differences in cognitive abilities.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Are the Sex Differences and Similarities in Cognitive Abilities?

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. 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.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Visual-Spatial Performance

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. 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?

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Effect Sizes

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 7.3: Evaluate contextual and individual difference factors that can influence cognitive performance.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sex Differences in the Variability of Cognitive Abilities

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Do Individual Differences and Context Influence Cognitive Performance?

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Math Anxiety

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

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

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Achievement Motivation and Sensitivity to Feedback

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Describe two possible influences that can increase math anxiety and subsequently impact math performance among students. Discuss what can be done to diminish the effects of these influences.

Learning Objective: 7.2: Analyze the specific domains of cognitive performance that show sex similarities and differences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Math Anxiety

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. 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.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: What Are the Sex Differences and Similarities in Cognitive Abilities?

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. 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.

Learning Objective: 7.4: Apply research on gender and cognitive performance to real-world issues, such as gender disparities in educational systems, school performance, and STEM disciplines.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sex, Gender, and STEM Fields

Difficulty Level: Medium