According to Madden (2001), “processing speed is a fundamental property of the central nervous system.” However, what if one gender’s brain processing results in an advantage over the other because of better reaction times? Current studies show contradictory findings when reporting gender differences on reaction time tasks (Adam et al., 1999; Calvo, 2009; Lahtela et al., 1985). Reaction time is referred to as “the amount of time from the onset of the stimulus beginning and responding” (Draper et al., 2010). However, the etiologies of gender differences on reaction tests are more difficult to explain; nevertheless, many researchers have explanations for these gender differences.
According to Lahtela et al., (1985) gender differences on reaction task can be attributed to females excelling over counterparts on semantic component reaction tasks; while, males excel over counterparts on spatial features reaction tasks. Another possible alternative explanation for gender differences on reaction tasks is males and females brains differences. fMRI brain scans show that there is a higher bilateral symmetry in female brain and a higher asymmetry in male brains (Kalb et al., 2004). These brain differences can have an impact on incoming stimuli though the dorsal and the ventral stream cortical. The “dorsal stream provides the basis for conscious and unconscious knowledge of ‘where’ something is in visual space, as well as the tracking of object movement” While, the “ventral stream processing provides information for conscious recognition of ‘what’ something is, including its associated characteristics” (McGivern et al., 2012). Through the dorsal and cortical streams operating in union, it allows incoming stimulus to be processed toge...
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Kalb, R., Jansen, S., Reulbach, U., & Kalb, S. (2004). Sex Differences in Simple Reaction Tasks. Perceptual And Motor Skills, 98(3,Pt1), 793-802. doi:10.2466/PMS.98.3.793-802
Lahtela, K., Niemi, P., & Kuusela, V. (1985). Adult visual choice-reaction time, age, sex and preparedness: A test of Welford's problem in a large population sample. Scandinavian Journal Of Psychology, 26(4), 357-362. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.1985.tb01175.x
Madden, D. J. (2001). Speed and timing of behavioural processes. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (5th ed.). San Diego, CA: Academic Pres
McGivern RF, Adams B, Handa RJ, Pineda JA (2012) Men and Women Exhibit a Differential Bias for Processing Movement versus Objects. PLoS ONE 7(3): e32238. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032238
http://opl.apa.org/Experiments/About/AboutReactionTimeColor.aspx
Both male and female brains are different and extends into a difference of what they can
...ignificant evidence for my research argument indicates that the nature of gender/sex consists of a wide consensus. The latter is significant to original sex differences in brain structure and the organized role through sex differential prenatal hormone exposures through the term used in the article as (the ‘hardwiring’ paradigm). The article is limited to scientific shortcoming that presents neuroscientific research on sex and gender for it lacks an analysis that goes beyond the observed results. The article is based on neuroscience studies and how it approached gender, yet the article suggests that gender should be examined through social, culture studies, ethnicity and race. This article will not form the foundation of my research but will be used a secondary material. The neuroscience evidences will be used to support my argument and will be used as an example.
Passer, M., Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremner, A., Sutherland, E., & Vliek, M. (2009). Psychology; Science of Mind and Behaviour. (European Edition). New York.
Men and women differ physically, emotionally and mentally. However, these differences has an advantage. The difference in physical appearances allows men to be attracted to females, and women to be attracted to males. The different emotional beings permit men and women to depend on each other for comfort at times of sadness, anger, happiness and many other emotions. Mentally, men and women think very differently, but this difference accounts for a gender to be curious and wanting to find out how the opposite sex thinks. Analyzing the difference in behaviors in both males and females, judging from effects of the brain, effects of inherited genes, in comparison to the effects of the environment and surroundings, reveals that the vast differences in males and females results from the effects of
Speck, Oliver, et al. "Gender differences in the functional organization of the brain for workingmemory." Neuroreport 11.11 (2000): 2581-2585.
As we all know the brain is one of the most amazing mysteries in the world; there is a lot to be discovered. This topic hits home for me because most of my life I have always wanted to know how is the brain any different between men and women.
Retrieved from http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/men-women-different-brains1.htm [2] Ronald A.Rensink (2002). Change Detection. Retrieved from http://cogprints.org/2153/3/AnnRev.RR.pdf [3] Jay Patterson (2007).
We hypothesized that the more an image is rotated, the longer the reaction time will be because of the additional mental processes that must take place in order to correctly complete the object recognition. We further hypothesized that the angle will overall have a greater impact on the 2-dimensional pictures than the letters. Additionally, we hypothesized that the combination of both the object type and the angle together will affect reaction time more significantly overall.
Eagly and Wood. (1999). The Origins of Sex Differences in Human Behavior. American Psychologist, 51(6), 408-432.
Although, there is proof of cognitive and mental variations in the way that two genders process information. For example, women are shown to be more adept at verbal communication and comprehension while men tend to perform better in the visual-spatial category. On the topic of memory, studies show that women are more sensory and memory oriented. In one study at the University of Edinburgh, psychologist Stuart Ritchie and a team of researchers compared data from many different male and female subjects. As Micheal Price states, “Adjusting for age, on average, they found that women tended to have significantly thicker cortices than men. Thicker cortices have been associated with higher scores on a variety of cognitive and general intelligence tests. Meanwhile, men had higher brain volumes than women in every subcortical region they looked at, including the hippocampus (which plays broad roles in memory and spatial awareness), the amygdala (emotions, memory, and decision-making), striatum (learning, inhibition, and reward-processing), and thalamus (processing and relaying sensory information to other parts of the brain).” (Price 2017). So indeed there are differences, however the similarities between genders far outweigh the differences. McGraw-Hill Higher Education argues that “More equivocal are gender differences in activity level, dependency, timidity, exploratory activity, and vulnerability to stress. There are no gender differences in sociability, conformity, achievement, self-esteem, or verbal hostility (Child Psychology).” In turn proving many once believed facts such as “women and men communicate differently, it's biology” into preconceived
Currently, it is still unknown how different men and women really are, at least in the aspect regarding the brain and one’s thought processes. It is a controversial topic, just being discovered and many studies conflict with each other regarding the subject, which leaves for open questions and missing answers. Originally, there was a common understanding that at least cognitively, both genders were born similar. The way their environment affected them was what made them different, and the society surrounding them believably had the largest impact on the difference of an individual. In contrast however, studies in recent times conflict with these older beliefs revealing quite the opposite. Some of today's psychologists agree that a few differences exhibited by male and female brains are innate (Khazan). To be specific, each gender has been found to have correlations in the way they both navigate. Men are more likely in dealing with directions to go about it in a cardinal fashion, using an innate, spatial ability to guide themselves. They rely on specific directions and knowledge in order to correctly know exactly where they are or what they are looking for is in relation to their environment. While females typically navigate memorizing landmarks to travel (Navigational Differences). There are many different theories concerning as to why both genders may have this relation, and as of now they are still being looked into with highly successful studies. As time passes, more and more of these studies are revealing information about the brain, and innate differences among it and the genders. Evidence proves that since the day they are born men and women are different mentally, specifically in the way of navigating and following directi...
During the early years of psychological research, many believed the brain of a male and female was different as their physical appearance in selected areas. The most popular argument was that females had smaller heads and smaller brains than males that brain size was a direct indicator of intelligence and that women must therefore be less intelligent than men. (Hyde, 1990, p.56) The argument overlooked the fact that brain size correlates with the size of the body. Helen Thompson Woolley dismissed the argument on brain size stating, “It is now a generally accepted belief that the smaller gross weight of the female brain has no significance other than that of the smaller average size of the female.” (Hyde, 1990, p.57) During these years, you could only find a meager amount of research using actual psychological methods to determine gender differences.
Gross, R (2010). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. 6th ed. London: Hodder Education. p188.
A common stereotype that is rehearsed in society is that women are more sensitive than men are. This “sensitivity” can mean a numerous amount of things, such as emotions, attitude, perception, observation, and much more. The notion can be viewed as a biased stereotype when it pertains to certain components, but not necessarily all of them. Take for example, in tests relating to people’s body language and non-verbal communication, it has been confirmed that women have done better than men in the majority of the tests administered. This observation is important to how truthful the stereotype that women are more sensitive than men is. Women's execution in perceiving and displaying of body language to achieve non-verbal communication is better executed than that of men’s.
Sabbatini, R. (n.d.). Are There Differences between the Brains of Males and Females?. "Brain & Mind" Magazine - WWW Home Page. Retrieved April 14, 2011, from http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n11/mente/eisntein/cerebro-homens.html