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Giessen (pte014/25.01.2005/10:30) - Women may find map reading and parking difficult because they were exposed to too little testosterone in the womb, researchers claim. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, the scientists from the University of Giessen, Germany http://www.uni-giessen.de have found that a lack of the hormone affects spatial ability. Low levels of testosterone are also linked to shorter wedding fingers, they say. The study, which was published in the journal Intelligence, adds fire to the male myth that women are deficient in these skills.
The German researchers examined the spatial, numerical and verbal skills of 40 student volunteers. Spatial skill is the ability to assess and orientate shapes and spaces. Map reading and parking are spatial skills, which men often say women lack. The scientists also studied the length of the students' wedding and index fingers. In women, the two fingers are generally almost equal in length, as measured from the crease nearest the palm to the fingertip. However, in men, the ring finger tends to be much longer than the index finger. One of the spatial tests involved identifying which of five drawings could not be rotated so it looked like the other four. The other test involved the ability to think in 3D by mentally "unfolding" a complex shape. Overall, men achieved higher scores in the tests than women.
However, women who had the male pattern of finger length did better than those whose wedding finger was shorter. They also outperformed the men on the numerical tests. According to Petra Kempel, who led the team of researchers, women who had "male-like" finger length ratio patterns outperformed other women. Differences seen within the group were "remarkable", they added. However, the scientists accept that their study was limited because only one saliva sample was taken from and each person, and no detailed account was taken of the women's menstrual cycles, which can affect hormone balance.
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