Study: Women's spatial abilities increase with video games

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 3rd 2007 at 10:30AM }

Research done at the University of Toronto found women who played video games reduced the inherent difference between the sexes when it comes to spatial skills. Spacial skills are things like reading a map, driving a car and putting stuff together. Researcher Jing Feng says their original experiment showed that "women do not do as well on spatial tasks"; however, their second experiment found that video games improved both sexes when it came to spatial skills, and that women caught up to men in tests -- five months later the experiments yielded the same result.

There's no real explanation why there would be such a dramatic change after only 10 hours of video game playing or why it would last for months. One could complain about how it's ridiculous that this research is done and yada, yada, yada. But, if having the important women in our life play some video games hardwires them to read a map better, we'll take it -- we hate pulling over and asking for directions.

[Via GamePolitics]

Tags: research, spatial, toronta, women

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) @ Oct 3rd 2007 10:34AM

Chicks! They're only good fer cooking'and...uh...fookin'

samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) @ Oct 3rd 2007 10:34AM

...really need to get into the habit of re-reading my posts before I hit Submit...

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring) @ Oct 3rd 2007 10:43AM

and breedin'

Shagittarius @ Oct 3rd 2007 3:25PM

I'd like to increase all those chicks spatial awareness.

Rususeruru @ Oct 3rd 2007 10:38AM

I like the fact this article says: Women aren't good at driving! unless they play games...

Zertoss @ Oct 3rd 2007 10:42AM

Women need to play more video games.

I wonder if the same applies to old people, because they terrify me on the road.

GRANTED @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:21AM

my girlfriend couldn't read a map to get out of a grocery bag. it annoys me more than you would expect--she can't really drive in the city because she can't navigate google maps.

so she wants me to get a gps navigator for her car.

yea, rite.

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring) @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:28AM

My wife is horrible with directions. It runs in her family though, because her mom and her sister suck at it to. She gets lost very easily, and doesn't pay attention to road names or signs. She can point out north south east west on a map, but couldn't tell you which directions well known land marks around the city are.

I'd just always thought she had bad direction sense. Never occurred to me that her brain wasn't wired for direction sense due to her gender.

Here's a question for the feminists: Is it sexist if its verifiably true?

baby sea tuna @ Oct 3rd 2007 10:46AM

I remember this pic. Sallow is sexy!

plyx @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:39AM

Yeah, that whole "I've been living in a war camp for six months" look really does it for me, too.

Hirsbrunner @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:52PM

The "Meth addict" look is in these days.

Phranctoast @ Oct 3rd 2007 10:46AM

kind of funny. I dated a women that was outspoken about not reading a map. It was kind of a pain in the ass when I wasnt sure and could have used directions.

christy160 @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:01AM

Did any of you stop to think before you posted, that what every single one of you said is sexist? Even the article ends on a sexist note. This is 2007, not 1957; educate yourselves.

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring) @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:16AM

Congradulations: you found the point!

Next lesson: internet humor

AirIntake @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:19AM

Sexism beats PC affirmative action any day, sweet cheeks!

Gareth @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:22AM

If being tied to the kitchen was good enough for your grandmother, it's good enough for you!

Blazur @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:27AM

Shouldn't you be baking me a cake?

danny. @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:31AM

Easy fellas, I sent her the article because it was article like this about monkeyball that got her playing games in the first place... She's not been exposed to the whole interweb sarcasm situation.

mike @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:34AM

sexisim is still acceptable in todays society, get used to it. I pay 10x as much as my sister does for insurance simply because im a male. If thats not sexisim then I dont know what is. so keep your comments to yourself about getting offended.

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring) @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:35AM

Crash course:

If somebody says something on the internet thats BLATANTLY sexist, racist, or offensive, like to the point they couldn't possibly be serious: its probably just a joke in bad taste.

Rususeruru @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:50AM

hey now I was just pointing out the article was being sexist. I reserve most of my personal opinions for personal conversations when it comes to that stuff.

Rususeruru @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:51AM

And btw welcome to Joystiq one of many battlefields for flame wars. Don't take anything to heart.

tentaclesex @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:11PM

It would be sexist to imply that women are inherently incapable of achieving the same results as men. This study shows that the potential is equal when activities are performed that develop spatial abilities. It is not sexist at all.

The difference in performance in this area is well-documented. This study provides evidence for a non-sexist interpretation of this discrepancy.

Saying "women have more trouble reading maps than men because they generally perform fewer tasks that develop spatial abilities" is not sexist. A sexist interpretation would be "women are incapable of developing spatial abilities because they're less intelligent than men."

Regarding Joystiq's jokey presentation of the issue, the fact that he ends it with a male stereotype (that we don't like to ask for directions) seems to make it pretty even.

tentaclesex @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:14PM

Oh, and yes, most of the people commenting are stupid/unfunny. Welcome to the internet/world at large.

:)

Phillip @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:04AM

But... women and men are the same!!! Equality of genders FTW!!!

HineyWipe @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:05AM

Gamerchix is teh hawt! (is that really sexist or just a complement?)

T3H WICKERMAN (FDF) @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:20AM

If u want clamps I can swap them for your hands. Just sign on the dotted line.

danny. @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:08AM

you tell'em fish

baby sea tuna @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:18AM

Don't make him give you the clamps!

T3H WICKERMAN (FDF) @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:13AM

This should be an episode of the L word...with more touching.mmmmm....

HineyWipe @ Oct 3rd 2007 1:35PM

clamps FTW!

Handy Manny @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:29AM

I believe this, after getting my girl, to play a little, she now knows all the interstate highways that connect the 48 continental states.

I dont think this article is sexist, now to say that that Gays should play games to be more like men now thats sexist. We should ask the guys at GayGamers.net about there map reading abilities. Thous guys are awsome.

Tamyu @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:26AM

Maybe this is why I`m a better driver than my husband... I`ve been playing games for 20 years now.

Game Artist @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:28AM

Now only if you could find something they could do for 10hrs that would improve their logic for months.....

religiousjedi @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:34AM

To the guys who posted about their wives/girlfriends, etc. etc., about their bad driving and inability to read a map...

Tell me how the pavement feels as a sub for a bed! :D

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring) @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:38AM

My couch is comfy, and I pay all the bills. Not getting thrown out of my house.

Plus I have the sweetest most loving wife in the world. And that the truth.

Sean @ Oct 3rd 2007 11:53AM

Women get fatter with video games?

pattyboi @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:02PM

So pretty soon they'll be in your league, BOOYAAA!

Sean @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:04PM

I doubt they will ever be in my league. I am bed-stricken and 863 pounds.

Pimliconite @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:15PM

It's your attitude that's keeping you lonely and unloved. There are probably several (well, >=1) 1/2 ton gamer chicks out there you could hook up with. Of course with your sniggling little teenage attitude, I doubt you'll find anyone with such a dearth of self-respect that they'd consider dating you. Sorry.

how_much_I_carrot @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:18PM

ok good now how about a game that teaches men to dress themselves?

Blazur @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:30PM

Leisure Suit Larry?

how_much_I_carrot @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:38PM

You made me remember LSL: Magna Cum Laude. Thanks a lot.

IntelliCow @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:35PM

Wow. I am actually shocked and disgusted with the responses to christy160 I have read in these comments. I believe it would be relevant to quote a recent comic from xkcd (http://www.xkcd.com/322/):

"When someone with a feminine username joins your community, and you say "OMG a woman on the internet... you are being an a__hole. You are not being ironic. You are not cracking everybody up. You are the number one reason women are so rare on the internet. At least, the parts of it YOU frequent."

Yes, her comment reflected an absurd oversensitivity to the (well-phrased) blog post. And yes, I think that the scientific evidence for superior spatial reasoning in males is considerable and should not be discounted by the political-correctness gestapo.

But that's not the point. The point is, AirIntake, Gareth, Blazur, and others, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Crono, I disagree entirely with everything you said: the "ironic" sexism on the internet is NOT harmless. Women should NOT simply learn to ignore and accept this behavior. We should, as a community of gamers, recognize that these permissive attitudes toward pathetic, juvenile, sexist "humor" are a considerable barrier to women getting into video gaming. You like nerdy girls? Shut down the arrested-development pricks who scare them away from this wonderful passtime.

Balla360 @ Oct 3rd 2007 1:37PM

Somebody call the Waaaambulance.

christy160 @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:55PM

Thank you. My boyfriend sent me the article bc I am an architect and started playing monkeyball to help with the whole spatial thing (and because it's fun!). I admit, I don't do the chat room thing and I didn't get the "irony". I'm surprised at all the idiotic responses to my post. Settle down boys.Don't get your panties in such a knot.:-)

Hirsbrunner @ Oct 3rd 2007 12:56PM

You should at least try to pull that corncob out of your ass.

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring) @ Oct 3rd 2007 1:11PM

I responded the exact same way I would have responded to anyone. I didn't notice the feminine user name till after I had posted.

And since she said she wasn't initiated into the internet culture, I mentioned the crash course in internet humor. Doesn't matter if its all offensive or in bad taste, its still what the internet culture is made of. I never told her to ignore it, but I can't change the internet, and neither can she, or you for that matter.

You're absolutely right that its those attitudes that scare normal girls away. But thats never going to change. Its the internet, where people go to be assholes. Joystiq especially is full of them, because we're all a bunch of bored 19-30 somethings, predominantly male time wasters. We're here because its one of the few internet sites not blocked at work, and we're assholes because its alot more entertaining being a dick than saying nice things all the time. Most of us are probably very nice people in person.

So in short, yes, she needs to learn to shrug it off and grow a thick skin if she wants to be a part of the internet gamer community at large, and this community in general. We're not all gonna stop being assholes because she gets offended. Thats life. Thats the Internet.

baby sea tuna @ Oct 3rd 2007 1:51PM

Chrono may be blunt, but he has a point. I suppose that qualifies as part of his charm.

Pinkechidna @ Oct 3rd 2007 2:12PM

"You like nerdy girls? Shut down the arrested-development pricks who scare them away from this wonderful passtime."

You sir, win the internet. :3

I'm a girl myself and I don't find the article sexist. Women caught up with men in five months? Awesome.

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments