Sex differences on a computerized mental rotation task disappear with computer familiarization

The area of cognitive research that has produced the most consistent sex di fferences is spatial ability. Particularly, men consistently perform better on mental rotation tasks than do women. This study examined the effects of familiarization with a computer on performance of a computerized two-dimen sional mental rotation task. Two groups of college students (N = 44) perfor med the rotation task, with one group performing a color-matching task that allowed them to be familiarized with the computer prior to the rotation ta sk. Among the participants who only performed the rotation task, the 11 men performed better than the 11 women. Among the participants who performed t he computer familiarization task before the rotation task, however, there w ere no sex differences on the mental rotation task between the 10 men and 1 2 women. These data indicate that sex differences on this two-dimensional t ask may reflect familiarization with the computer, not the menial rotation component of the task. Further research with larger samples and increased r ange of task difficulty is encouraged.