IBSS: Age Changes and Gender Differences in Spatial Abilities: Testing the Role of Mobility in Three Non-Industrial Societies and in the U.S.

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This interdisciplinary research project will focus on determining how spatial ability is affected by navigational experience and how spatial abilities differ by gender and change with age. Previous research has observed that males generally have larger geographic ranges than females across a wide range of cultures, and males generally have done significantly better at some spatial tests. Because large ranges pose navigational and spatial challenges, many theorists have speculated that gender-related differences in mobility may underlie gender-related differences in spatial performance. This project will test three hypotheses that may explain the root causes of gender-related differences in mobility patterns and evaluate how natural mobility, navigational style, and spatial ability are related. Because there are large cultural differences in age and gender-related patterns of mobility, this project will include participants in communities in Tanzania, Namibia, and Ecuador that subsist on foraging and small-scale farming, and it also will include participants in the United States, where lifestyles are considerably different. The researchers will assess mobility through the use of interviews and by tracking subjects using GPS devices. They will assess navigational and spatial ability through the use of cognitive tests adapted to make them broadly applicable across cultures. The navigational data will based on both real-world and virtual world tasks and will include both field and laboratory-based components.This project will enhance basic understanding of the factors that shape spatial performance as well as how it differs by gender and across cultures. The project will test a number of hypotheses that have been posited in hopes of relating spatial ability to different kinds of experience. Because spatial skills are related to higher levels of performance in mathematics and science, and women and minorities are underrepresented in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology-related fields, greater knowledge about the factors that enhance spatial thinking has the potential to make scientific and technical education and related employment opportunities more broadly accessible. The project will develop and disseminate assessment tools that can be used with people of all ages and different cultures, including non-literate populations, which should help improve spatial capabilities for people in many different environments. This project is supported through the NSF Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (IBSS) competition.