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Differences in intelligence have long been a topic of debate among researchers and scholars. With the advent of the concept of ''g'' or general intelligence some form of empiricism was allowed, but results are often inconsistent with studies showing either no differences or advantages for both sexes, with many showing a slight advantage for males.〔〔〔〔 One study did find some advantage for women in later life, while another found that male advantages on some cognitive tests are minimized when controlling for socioeconomic factors.〔 The differences in average IQ between men and women are small in magnitude and inconsistent in direction.〔〔〔〔〔 Some studies have concluded that there is larger variability in male scores compared to female scores, which results in more males than females in the top and bottom of the IQ distribution.〔〔 This remains a controversial claim. There are however differences in the capacity of males and females in performing certain tasks, such as rotation of object in space, often categorized as ''spatial ability''. == Historical perspectives == Prior to the 20th century, it was a commonly held view that men were intellectually superior to women. Thomas Gisborne argued (1801) that women were naturally suited to domestic work and not spheres suited to men such as politics, science, or business. He argued that this was because women did not possess the same level of rational thinking that men did and had naturally superior abilities in skills related to family support.〔Thomas Gisborne, An enquiry into the duties of the female sex, Printed by A. Strahan for T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1801〕 In 1875, Herbert Spencer argued that women were incapable of abstract thought and could not understand issues of justice, and only had the ability to understand issues of care.〔Judith Worell, Encyclopedia of women and gender: sex similarities and differences and the impact of society on gender, Volume 1, Elsevier, 2001, ISBN 0-12-227246-3, ISBN 978-0-12-227246-2〕 In 1925, Sigmund Freud also concluded that women were less morally developed in the concept of justice, and, unlike men, were more influenced by feeling than rational thought.〔 Early brain studies comparing mass and volumes between the sexes concluded that women were intellectually inferior because they had smaller and lighter brains (in reality, both genders are equally encephalized, having the same brain-to-body mass ratio, but women have a smaller mean body mass). Many believed that the size difference caused women to be excitable, emotional, sensitive, and therefore not suited for political participation.〔 In the nineteenth century, whether men and women had equal intelligence was seen by many as a prerequisite for the granting of suffrage.〔Margarete Grandner, Austrian women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: cross-disciplinary perspectives, Berghahn Books, 1996, ISBN 1-57181-045-5, ISBN 978-1-57181-045-8〕 Leta Hollingworth argues that women were not permitted to realize their full potential, as they were confined to the roles of child-rearing and housekeeping. During the early twentieth century, the scientific consensus shifted to the view that gender plays no role in intelligence. In his 1916 study of children's IQs, psychologist Lewis Terman concluded that "the intelligence of girls, at least up to 14 years, does not differ materially from that of boys". He did, however, find "rather marked" differences on a minority of tests. For example, he found boys were "decidedly better" in arithmetical reasoning, while girls were "superior" at answering comprehension questions. He also proposed that discrimination, lack of opportunity, women's responsibilities in motherhood, or emotional factors may have accounted for the fact that few women had careers in intellectual fields. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sex differences in intelligence」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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