Despite the physical differences between the male and female brain, there seems to be little, if any, difference between them as far as overall intelligence is concerned. The average IQ (intelligence quotient) score for men and for women is very similar, but that doesn't mean we're all the same. In fact, far more men than women get very high or very low scores.
That means there are probably more very clever men around than there are very clever women, but probably there are also more men than women at the bottom of the class.
Another problem is, though, that while "average" scores tell us about the average ability of men and women in a whole population, they can't tell us how well individuals do, or the range of their results. Nor is measuring intelligence that straightforward. The most common tests include the IQ test and the SAT test. There has been huge debate as to whether such tests disadvantage women by using situations that men (or boys) are more familiar with than women (or girls). For example, a question that asks about the relative speeds of two cars might be easier for a man or boy to answer than a woman or girl.
Horses for courses?
Research has shown that, on the whole, men perform better than women at visual-spatial tests, so they are good at understanding the things we see and putting them in context – for instance, the way a car engine is put together. Men also tend to be better at tests involving maths. Women do better at tests involving language and words, as well as verbal reasoning. They also score better on some memory tests.
It is increasingly believed that men greatly outnumber women in top academic posts in the sciences due to institutionalized discrimination. Now that this has been recognized, greater numbers of women are rising to top posts.
Do you want to learn more about the female brain? Read about how it really works here!
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Excerpted from Women's Health For Life, copyright 2009 Donnica Moore, MD and DK Publishing. Used by permission of DK Publishing.All Rights Reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
