NO GENDER DIFFERENCE IN SPATIAL REPRESENTATION BY SCHOOLCHILDREN IN NORTHWEST PAKISTAN

Results from two spatial tasks (Kohs block design and draw-a-person-wi th-face-in-front) support previously documented ecocultural findings w ith Stone-Age culture Auca Indians and challenge a basic Western assum ption of gender differences in spatial tasks that favor males. Twenty- four male and 24 female schoolchildren (ages 8 to 10) in northwest Pak istan performed both spatial tasks without showing essential gender di fferences. Of the girls and boys, 44.4% and 63.6%, respectively, const ructed Kohs blocks correctly. Of the girls and boys, 60.8% and 47.9%, respectively, produced similar schematized neolithic-type face pattern s when asked to draw a face. These findings of similar spatial represe ntation abilities and preferences in boys and girls are even more stri king when considered within the context of an Islamic cultural traditi on, which had, in the past, neglected women's education, also preserve d traditional women's tasks.