Other differences which have been fairly well established as basic sexual differences not related to socialization are: ¹

• females have greater verbal abilities which increase beyond 11 years; males have greater spatial abilities which do not show up until the adolescent years. These are emphasized by socialization.

• women appear to show less specialization in the two sides of the brain. If they suffer local brain damage, the function of that area is not lost but is taken over by other areas. Men tend to show much greater specialization and when they suffer brain damage, the function of the damaged area tends to be lost. Women who suffer strokes, for example, can be rehabilitated more easily than men.

• women tend to have both verbal and spatial functions located on both sides of the brain, while men tend to show lateralization of these functions, that is the verbal function on one side and the spatial ability on the other. Women, therefore, may be superior in activities which require combined verbal and spatial activities as part of a single activity, such as understanding simultaneously both verbal and non-verbal parts of a communication for another person. Men may be superior in situations which call for different verbal and spatial functions, each used for a different activity, such as operating a drill press at the same time as carrying on a conversation.

• women's brains appear to be selectively and sequentially activated according to the mental tasks required in any activity. They can concentrate on that one task to the exclusion of others. Men, however, may be able to carry out more than one mental task at any time, but this ability also leads to distractibility and lack of concentration. This would also contribute to exploring behaviours which are partially a function of distractibility, as well as of spatial skills.

• in cultures where children of both sexes are permitted to roam freely, the sex differences in spatial ability are present but not as marked as those found in cultures in which female children are not encouraged to roam freely. This suggests that every mental ability must be exercised and allowed full access to learning experiences in order to develop to its full potential.

• women show a larger electorial response to stimuli such as light or sound. They are more affected by novel situations. As women concentrate more on the novel stimuli, the electrical responses become greater. Therefore, women are described as augmenters. They tend to rate life changes such as marriage, changing residence, childbirth, etc. as far more stressful than men.

Note that females may differ from males in the number of individuals with superior skills in certain spheres of activity, not in the level of skill possible among women. Average differences and abilities should never be used to exclude women from any profession or occupation.

It is apparent that some of these sex-based differences could be used against women in their quest for equality in learning opportunities. CCLOW may want to address these issues, as well as questions such as:

• does schooling/training aim at improving the skills of the average learner (eg. verbal skills for women, spatial skills for men); or at improving the skills of the individual?

• should schooling in the early years focus on the cognitive strengths of each sex, rather than on the weaknesses; on the weaknesses rather than the strengths; or on some combination of both?

• should schooling/training in the adult years assume that cognitive skills have already been established and cannot be altered; and, therefore, learning activities. should focus on verbal skills and fine motor coordination for women, and spatial skills and gross motor coordination for men, as a general rule?

^1. D. Goleman, "Special abilities of the sexes: Do they begin in the Brain" and M. B. Parlee, "The sexes under scrutiny: From old biases to new theories", Psychology Today, November 1978, pp. 48-59 and 62-69.

Also E. Maccoby and C. Jacklin (eds.) The psychology of sex differences, (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1974).