OVERCOMING MATH ANXIETY
Chapter 4. Right- and Wrong-Headedness:
Is There a Nonathematical Mind?
Not all women experience math anxiety, and not all people who fear mathematics are women. This is essential to the proper understanding of the preceding chapter. There is, however, one knotty facet of intelligence that prevents researchers from abandoning altogether the study of male/female differences in intellectual activities. Tests of the ability to understand and manipulate drawings of two-dimensional and three-dimensional figures generally show males to be more skilled in the area than females.
We have observed that many females do not get the same exposure to spatial-visualization training in their play and their home environment. As athletic opportunities open up for girls and young women, sex differences in spatial skills may diminish. Studies of women who climb, do ball sports, and ski find that their spatial-relations abilities exceed those of average males.
There is some evidence that participation in shop and mechanical-drawing
classes also increases a student's ability to visualize objects
in space. This, together with sports, might account for some male
superiority over females. Testing before and after the first year of engineering shows that...
engineering students improve their spatial skills by studying
engineering...
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