HORMONE AND HEMISPHERICITY HYPOTHESES REGARDING COGNITIVE SEX-DIFFERENCES - POSSIBLE FUTURE EXPLANATORY POWER, BUT CURRENT EMPIRICAL CHAOS

Two general hypotheses regarding the possible basis of cognitive sex d ifferences posit sex steroid hormone differences and differences in he mispheric specialization characteristics as responsible. This article reviews (1) a limited segment of the literature regarding sex steroid influences, namely, that dealing with ''activating'' influences; and ( 2) some data suggesting that dextral women who are positive for famili al sinistrality could be a group who contribute heavily to the mean se x difference in spatial ability. The general conclusion of these revie ws is that despite the promise of some future integration of hormone a nd hemispheric specialization hypotheses and understanding of how they might relate to cognitive sex differences, present data are highly in consistent.