THE NUMBERS GAME - GENDER AND ATTENTION TO NUMERICAL INFORMATION

Research suggests that males outperform females on standardized tests of math ability from early adolescence onward. Several explanations fo r this difference focus on the different experiences of females and ma les with numerical information. We reasoned that males have more exper ience with numerical information than females because ''typical'' male interests (e.g., sports) are more likely to involve numerical informa tion than ''typical'' female interests (e.g., physical appearance). Th us, we predicted that males would attend move to numerical information than would females, at least when the information was presented in a male-related or gender-neutral context. Females were expected to atten d more than males when the context was female-related. Results using W hite/Caucasian subjects provided some support for these predictions. I mplications for future research on the relationship between the gender -linkage of math materials and gender differences in math performance are discussed.