Spatial Competence: The Contribution of Socio-Cultural and Gender Factors in Measures of Differences Between Men and Women

9318643 GOLLEDGE众所周知，男性和女性在空间任务的表现水平上存在显著差异。许多科学家认为，这种表现上的差异是阻碍女性更充分地参与许多科学和工程领域的一个重要因素。然而，目前尚不清楚这种表现差异是由空间“能力”（即生理差异）的先天性别差异所致，还是由经验、训练、态度和文化等性别影响所致。该项目的目标是更好地理解与性别相关和与性别相关的空间能力差异的相对重要性。该项目由一个跨学科团队承担，为开展这项雄心勃勃的研究提供了必要的广度。精心挑选的80人样本将采用多种互补的方法进行彻底研究，包括个人历史、态度调查、行为调查、心理测试以及空间能力和行为的实验室和现场测试。这种结合社会/人类学和人文地理因素的研究，以及标准的心理测试测量和特定任务的表现测量，将提供社会根源的价值观，期望和压力在决定存在（或缺乏）与性别相关的空间能力和表现差异解释中的作用的指示。分析结果将有助于更好地理解空间能力的性别差异背后的因素，并有助于加强与空间知识相关的理论。因此，这些发现将对与空间表现中的性别和性别差异有关的广泛的理论和实践问题产生重大影响。

9318643 GOLLEDGE It is well known that there are significant differences in performance levels for spatial tasks between men and women. Many scientists have argued that this difference in performance is an important factor deterring women from participating more fully in many of the sciences and engineering. However, it is unclear whether this difference in performance is the result of innate sex-related differences in spatial "competence" (i.e. physiological differences) or in gender-related influences, such as experience, training, attitude, and culture. The goal of this project is to seek a better understanding of the relative importance of gender-related and sex-related differences in spatial competence. This project is being undertaken by an interdisciplinary team that provides the breadth necessary to undertake this ambitious research. A carefully chosen sample of 80 persons will be thoroughly studied using a complementary variety of approaches including personal histories, attitude surveys, behavior surveys, psychological tests, and laboratory and field tests of spatial competence and behavior. This combination of research on social/anthropological and human geographic factors, along with standard psychometric test measurements and performance measures on specific tasks, will provide an indication of the roles that socially rooted values, expectations, and pressures play in determining the existence (or lack) of sex-related explanations of variations in spatial abilities and performance. Results of the analysis will contribute significantly to better understanding the factors behind sex and gender differences in spatial ability and to enhancement of theories related to spatial knowledge in general. As such, the findings will have major implications for a broad range of theoretical and practical issues related to gender and sex differences in spatial performance.