Hormone and hemisphericity hypotheses regarding cognitive sex differences: Possible future explanatory power, but current empirical chaos

Abstract Two general hypotheses regarding the possible basis of cognitive sex differences posit sex steroid hormone differences and differences in hemispheric specialization characteristics as responsible. This article reviews (1) a limited segment of the literature regarding sex steroid influences, namely, that dealing with “activating” influences; and (2) some data suggesting that dextral women who are positive for familial sinistrality could be a group who contribute heavily to the mean sex difference in spatial ability. The general conclusion of these reviews is that despite the promise of some future integration of hormone and hemispheric specialization hypotheses and understanding of how they might relate to cognitive sex differences, present data are highly inconsistent.

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