Digit ratio and faculty membership: Implications for the relationship between prenatal testosterone and academia.
Digit ratio (length of index finger divided by length of ring finger) is an index of exposure to Prenatal testosterone. Prenatal testosterone slows the growth rate of the left side of the brain while enhancing growth of the right side. Right hemisphere processing is associated with better visual-spa...
| Published in: | British Journal of Psychology Vol. 97; no. 4; pp. 455 - 467 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
November 2006
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=510665250&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 510665250 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00071269 BJP jtl: British Journal of Psychology issn: 00071269 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: November 2006 vid: 97 iid: 4 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell artinfo: ui: 510665250 10.1348/000712605X85808 ppf: 455 ppct: 12 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 926KB tig: atl: Digit ratio and faculty membership: Implications for the relationship between prenatal testosterone and academia. aug: au: Brosnan, Mark J. su: Prenatal influences Testosterone Finger measurement Gender differences (Psychology) College teachers sug: subj: Prenatal influences Testosterone Finger measurement Gender differences (Psychology) College teachers ab: Digit ratio (length of index finger divided by length of ring finger) is an index of exposure to Prenatal testosterone. Prenatal testosterone slows the growth rate of the left side of the brain while enhancing growth of the right side. Right hemisphere processing is associated with better visual-spatial and mathematical abilities, as is digit ratio. Thus, traditional sex differences in visual-spatial and mathematical abilities can be attributed to differences in exposure to prenatal testosterone, indexed by a sex dimorphic pattern in digit ratio (female = 1.00, male = 0.98 for UK samples). Additionally, the digit ratio is a marker for within-sex variance in visual-spatial ability. This study examines the digit ratio of an academic sample. No sex differences are found and there is a significant difference between the Science Faculty and Social Science Faculty. Social Scientists of both sexes have a ratio consistent with the male norm (0.98) whilst Scientists have a digit ratio consistent with the female norm (1.00). These results are discussed in terms of the lower normal range of male testosterone being associated with highest visual spatial abilities. Relationships with fertility and Dyslexia are also identified. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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