Performance differences between adolescent boys and girls assigned four visual-spatial skills tasks

This study compares the performance of 64 adolescent boys and 42 adolescent girls aged from 15 to 17 on four visual-spatial skills tasks. The administrative conditions of these computerized tasks are highly standardized. Three of these tasks, Spatial Visualization, Perception and Spatial Relations, are taken from the Computerized Aptitude Test (CAT-A) for adolescents and adults, whereas the fourth task is an adaptation for adolescents of the subtest Puzzle of the Computerized Aptitude Test (CAT-I) for infants. The dependent variables are the average success scores and the speed of execution scores derived from latency times in a group of the best scores for each of the four tasks. The results show that the adolescent boys are more successful at the Spatial Visualization and Spatial Relations tasks, On the whole, the boys and the girls showed a comparable speed of success, except in the Spatial Relations subtest, where the girls were much faster. The observed differences are interpreted as reflecting the better strategies adopted by the boys to solve mental rotation tasks.