Sex Differences in Spatial Ability: An Evolutionary Hypothesis and Test

Abstract

A comparison of male and female home-range size and maze performance in two congeneric species of microtine rodents suggests an evolutionary explanation for sex differences in spatial ability. Male/female differences in this cognitive trait seem to depend ultimately not on sex per se, but rather on the type of mating system and on the associated reproductive tactics employed by each sex. Through a combined field and laboratory study, the hypothesis that males evolve superior spatial ability only when they are more mobile (i.e., have larger home ranges) than females is developed and tested.