ERIC Number: EJ1339773
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2079-3200
EISSN: N/A
Sex Similarities and Differences in Intelligence in Children Aged Two to Eight: Analysis of SON-R 2-8 Scores
Buczylowska, Dorota; Ronniger, Pola; Melzer, Jessica; Petermann, Franz
Journal of Intelligence, v7 Article 11 2019
The aim of this study was to investigate sex similarities and differences in visuospatial and fluid abilities and IQ scores based on those abilities in children aged two to eight. Standardization data from the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test for Children aged 2-8 (SON-R 2-8) were used. A representative sample composed of 965 children from the Netherlands and 762 children from Germany was examined. Small but significant mean sex differences favoring girls were observed until age four. At ages six and seven, boys achieved similar cognitive development levels to girls regarding all abilities assessed and outperformed girls on the Mosaics subtest measuring visuospatial cognition. Boys also displayed higher variability rates in performance. The distribution of IQ scores, with the overrepresentation of girls scoring above mean and the overrepresentation of boys scoring below mean in early childhood, altered with age towards parity between the sexes. The results suggest that girls tend to mature earlier with respect to cognitive abilities. During the course of development, however, the differences between girls and boys may become negligible.
Descriptors: Gender Differences, Visual Perception, Spatial Ability, Intelligence Quotient, Young Children, Age Differences, Cognitive Ability, Foreign Countries
MDPI AG. Klybeckstrasse 64, 4057 Basel, Switzerland. e-mail: indexing@mdpi.com; e-mail: jintelligence@mdpi.com; Web site: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jintelligence
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands; Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A