Karen L Siedlecki1, Francesca Falzarano1, Timothy A Salthouse2. 1. Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA. 2. Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Previous research has shown that women have an advantage on verbal episodic memory and processing speed tasks, while men show an advantage on spatial ability measures. Previous work has also found differences in cognition across age. The current study examines gender differences in neurocognitive functioning across adulthood, whether age moderates this effect, and whether these differences remain consistent with practice across multiple testing sessions. METHOD: Data from the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project were used, which included participants between the ages of 18 and 99 years (N = 5125). Participants completed measures assessing five cognitive domains: episodic memory, processing speed, reasoning, spatial visualization, and vocabulary. RESULTS: Results showed that gender was significantly related to memory, speed, and spatial visualization, but not to vocabulary or reasoning. Results of invariance analyses across men and women provided evidence of configural and metric invariance, along with partial scalar invariance. Additionally, there was little evidence that age or practice influenced the gender effect on neurocognition. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the previous research, these results suggest that there is a female advantage in episodic memory and processing speed, and a male advantage in spatial visualization. Gender was shown to influence cognition similarly across adulthood. Furthermore, the influence of gender remained the same across three sessions, which is consistent with the previous work that has shown that training does not differentially impact performance on spatial ability measures for females compared to males.
OBJECTIVE: Previous research has shown that women have an advantage on verbal episodic memory and processing speed tasks, while men show an advantage on spatial ability measures. Previous work has also found differences in cognition across age. The current study examines gender differences in neurocognitive functioning across adulthood, whether age moderates this effect, and whether these differences remain consistent with practice across multiple testing sessions. METHOD: Data from the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project were used, which included participants between the ages of 18 and 99 years (N = 5125). Participants completed measures assessing five cognitive domains: episodic memory, processing speed, reasoning, spatial visualization, and vocabulary. RESULTS: Results showed that gender was significantly related to memory, speed, and spatial visualization, but not to vocabulary or reasoning. Results of invariance analyses across men and women provided evidence of configural and metric invariance, along with partial scalar invariance. Additionally, there was little evidence that age or practice influenced the gender effect on neurocognition. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the previous research, these results suggest that there is a female advantage in episodic memory and processing speed, and a male advantage in spatial visualization. Gender was shown to influence cognition similarly across adulthood. Furthermore, the influence of gender remained the same across three sessions, which is consistent with the previous work that has shown that training does not differentially impact performance on spatial ability measures for females compared to males.
Authors: Diane F Halpern; Camilla P Benbow; David C Geary; Ruben C Gur; Janet Shibley Hyde; Morton Ann Gernsbacher Journal: Psychol Sci Public Interest Date: 2007-08-01
Authors: Michelle M Mielke; Neelum T Aggarwal; Clara Vila-Castelar; Puja Agarwal; Eider M Arenaza-Urquijo; Benjamin Brett; Anna Brugulat-Serrat; Lyndsey E DuBose; Willem S Eikelboom; Jason Flatt; Nancy S Foldi; Sanne Franzen; Paola Gilsanz; Wei Li; Alison J McManus; Debora Melo van Lent; Sadaf Arefi Milani; C Elizabeth Shaaban; Shana D Stites; Erin Sundermann; Vidyani Suryadevara; Jean-Francoise Trani; Arlener D Turner; Jet M J Vonk; Yakeel T Quiroz; Ganesh M Babulal Journal: Alzheimers Dement Date: 2022-04-08 Impact factor: 16.655
Authors: Clara Vila-Castelar; Pierre N Tariot; Kaycee M Sink; David Clayton; Jessica B Langbaum; Ronald G Thomas; Yinghua Chen; Yi Su; Kewei Chen; Nan Hu; Margarita Giraldo-Chica; Carlos Tobón; Natalia Acosta-Baena; Ernesto Luna; Marisol Londoño; Paula Ospina; Victoria Tirado; Claudia Muñoz; Eliana Henao; Yamile Bocanegra; Sergio Alvarez; Silvia Rios-Romenets; Valentina Ghisays; Dhruman Goradia; Wendy Lee; Ji Luo; Michael H Malek-Ahmadi; Hillary D Protas; Francisco Lopera; Eric M Reiman; Yakeel T Quiroz Journal: Alzheimers Dement Date: 2022-02-01 Impact factor: 16.655
Authors: Ingrid Tonning Olsson; Margaret M Lubas; Chenghong Li; Belinda N Mandrell; Pia Banerjee; Carrie R Howell; Kirsten K Ness; Deokumar Srivastava; Leslie L Robison; Melissa M Hudson; Kevin R Krull; Tara M Brinkman Journal: JNCI Cancer Spectr Date: 2020-02-19
Authors: Ida K Karlsson; Margaret Gatz; Thalida Em Arpawong; Anna K Dahl Aslan; Chandra A Reynolds Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2021-03-30 Impact factor: 4.379
Authors: Johanna Beckmann; Christin Lang; Rosa du Randt; Annelie Gresse; Kurt Z Long; Sebastian Ludyga; Ivan Müller; Siphesihle Nqweniso; Uwe Pühse; Jürg Utzinger; Cheryl Walter; Markus Gerber Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-04-16 Impact factor: 3.390