Sexual Orientation-Related Differences in Virtual Spatial Navigation and Spatial Search Strategies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8356803 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Qazi Rahman (0000-0001-8346-4529, King's College London, corresponding author), Jonathan Sharp (0000-0002-1344-0107), Jonathan O Sharp (0000-0002-2942-1066, Guy's Hospital), Meadhbh McVeigh (Guy's Hospital), Man-Ling Ho (0000-0003-3211-7169, Guy's Hospital) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 1279-1294 |
| Publication date | 2017-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archives of Sexual Behavior (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0004-0002 • E-ISSN: 1573-2800 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10508-017-0986-5 |
| PMID | 28401317 |
| OpenAlex | W2605889373 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 66 |
Spatial abilities are generally hypothesized to differ between men and women, and people with different sexual orientations. According to the cross-sex shift hypothesis, gay men are hypothesized to perform in the direction of heterosexual women and lesbian women in the direction of heterosexual men on cognitive tests. This study investigated sexual orientation differences in spatial navigation and strategy during a virtual Morris water maze task (VMWM). Forty-four heterosexual men, 43 heterosexual women, 39 gay men, and 34 lesbian/bisexual women (aged 18-54 years) navigated a desktop VMWM and completed measures of intelligence, handedness, and childhood gender nonconformity (CGN). We quantified spatial learning (hidden platform trials), probe trial performance, and cued navigation (visible platform trials). Spatial strategies during hidden and probe trials were classified into visual scanning, landmark use, thigmotaxis/circling, and enfilading. In general, heterosexual men scored better than women and gay men on some spatial learning and probe trial measures and used more visual scan strategies. However, some differences disappeared after controlling for age and estimated IQ (e.g., in visual scanning heterosexual men differed from women but not gay men). Heterosexual women did not differ from lesbian/bisexual women. For both sexes, visual scanning predicted probe trial performance. More feminine CGN scores were associated with lower performance among men and greater performance among women on specific spatial learning or probe trial measures. These results provide mixed evidence for the cross-sex shift hypothesis of sexual orientation-related differences in spatial cognition
Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Cued speech · Developmental psychology · Heterosexuality · Homosexuality · Lesbian · Orientation (vector space) · Sexual orientation · Spatial Ability · Categorization, perception, and language · Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Psychology · Spatial Cognition and Navigation
Spatial Ability, Navigation Strategy, and Geographic Knowledge Among Men and Women
Evolved mechanisms underlying wayfinding
Navigation in a “Virtual” Maze
Sex and Cognition
Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science
Psychosexual Development of Women with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
The assessment and analysis of handedness
Gender Differences in Wayfinding Strategies and Anxiety About Wayfinding
The Recalled Childhood Gender Identity/Gender Role Questionnaire
Gender differences in way-finding strategies
Childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation
Sexual orientation and childhood gender nonconformity
Sexual Orientation Differences in Cerebral Asymmetry and in the Performance of Sexually Dimorphic Cognitive and Motor Tasks
A Neuropsychologic Profile of Homosexual and Heterosexual Men and Women
Recalled Sex-typed Behavior in Childhood and Sports’ Preferences in Adulthood of Heterosexual, Bisexual, and Homosexual Men from Brazil, Turkey, and Thailand
Visuospatial Performance on an Internet Line Judgment Task and Potential Hormonal Markers
Gender Nonconformity, Intelligence, and Sexual Orientation
A Comparative Analysis of a Community and General Sample of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals
Magnitude of sex differences in spatial abilities
Genetic and environmental influences on sexual orientation and its correlates in an Australian twin sample
Evolution and Cognition
Sexual orientation and handedness in men and women
Neurohormonal functioning and sexual orientation
Human behavioral sex differences
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2023 (4) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |