Women can't read maps as well as men, is this true?

Answer 1

As a generalization, there are studies that indicate that men's brains are better at understanding and analyzing maps than women's brains are.

This is also true of math.

Women are better at different things than men are, that's part of why God made the two sexes.

You will probably find that most of the people that think otherwise in this discussion either think it because of their personal experience (e.g. wife reads maps better than her husband) or to their politically correct thinking (e.g. what a stupid question).

Personal experience is great and not to be discounted, but you're not getting a relevant statistical sample if you just go by who's responding to this query.

Answer 2

It has been proven by research that GENERALLY speaking, women and men navigate differently. Men tend to navigate by using a directional sense while women navigate by using landmarks.

According to literature published in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Perceptial and Motor Skills, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Behavior Genetics, the New England Journal of Medicine, Neuropsychologia, and the Journal of Genetic Psychology there is a definite difference in how the genders process spatial information and use it to navigate.

Interestingly enough, this gender difference is not confined just to humans, it also shows up in other primates as well as in rats.

(Ever see that comic routine where the comedian says "Here's a guy giving directions - Go south on 83 and then take 41 east, get off at Libby and keep going east until you hit the theater. Now here's a woman giving directions - Go to the first Taco Bell past the gas station across from the Bed Bath and Beyond, turn left and look for the Main Square Mall, turn right and keep going until you see a big stone church....")

Because most maps don't use landmarks, it follows that most women would have a harder time reading maps than men. However, it might also be the case that women don't read maps as often and therefor have a harder time interpreting them.

I wrote an article on Gender Linked Aptitudes several years ago; my sources are old now, but I listed some of them below.

Answer 3

Not _exactly_. It does turn out that women and men give directions in different ways. Men, for the most part, go with ordinal directions and distances. Women navigate more often by landmark. So Bob might say, "Go 2 miles north and turn left. It's on the south side of the road, about 3 1/2 miles down". Roberta would probably say, "Drive towards the school and turn left at the Sunoco. Keep going over the bridge, and it's the house on the right with the purple door".

Since our maps were invented by men, they rely on the navigational method that works best for men. However, that doesn't mean that women will necessarily have a noticeable amount of difficulties reading the things. It's another one of those gender differences that sounds important, but, in the end, doesn't mean much.

Answer 4

You should have put this question under military. Why is it that men will not admit they are lost? Is it pride or can't read a map? Most of the time women tell them directions and they still get lost.

It is mandatory that women in the military are high school grads and no GEDs. Military females that are 88Ms could eat your lunch, right along with all those 57H, 95B, 71Ls and can even find their way to take you to Ft Leavenworth.... 10 degrees by 9! Most military females are Alphas and are not from the low end of the gene pool! Stop dragging your knuckles, it's embarrassing to monkeys.

Answer 5

i'm a guy and function in no way been in a position to examine a map in my existence. If i attempt to locate my way by way of a map, I continuously wander off. on the different hand, I actual multitask and am informed to be a great listener. i latterly examine that inability to examine maps (spatial thinking) may well be all the way down to hormonal stages, and for this reason women human beings tend to accomplish much less stable than adult men. yet being a guy myself, I form of ask your self what's up with that ;-)

Answer 6

ON AVERAGE!! Always address your questions thus. A lot of very bad, ideological, politically correct, but wrong answers here. A few that were up to date on the findings in this area. Spatial representation vs detail apprehension make men better map readers ON AVERAGE, than women. Big whoop! The truth does not care about your ideology or belief. Many people here need to accept and deal with what is true. I am ashamed to say, that many of these type incorrect answers come straight out of " higher " education. Social science is obviously in need of an overhaul.

Answer 7

In general, men are more visual and spatial in their brain function.
Studies also show they're more able to look at a map or a diagram, and give a description of what the actual thing looks like.

This means that in general, the AVERAGE male map-reader will outperform the AVERAGE female map-reader.

The roles tend to reverse with written and especially with spoken directions, as women are better with sequential verbal infomation.

BUT....this is a law of averages....in a world where the tallest NBA player is from china, a land of shorter people, it is EASY to point out that averages don't mean everyone.

Answer 8

That's not true, just a generalization of some sort. My father knew how to read maps, but couldn't do it while driving, so my mother was the "navigator". My ex husband refused to read a map so I was the "navigator". My current husband does the long driving, and I'm still the "navigator".

If you want to go by gender bias, women are usually the ones saying "We need a map" when driving somewhere unfamiliar. We're also far more prone to say "Pull over and ask for directions" because having to ask for directions bruises the male ego.

Answer 9

It depends on the women and how good her spatial awareness skills are. Men are generally more developed in their spatial awareness abilities, but there are plenty of women who peform well in this area and can read maps just as well as men. HTH : )

Answer 10

On the average, this is absolutely true. Men, on the average, outscore women on any test requiring good spatial perception abilities. This includes reading and applying said reading of a map. Anybody who is interested in discovering the scientific reasons for this can google it...if they dare.

Edit - What gets me are the number of women who've posted in this thread "I can read a map as good (or better) than a man"...almost as if to say "I'm as good (or better) than a man". What they fail to understand is that such an attitude is present only when one values being like a man more than being like a woman...clear evidence of the influence of feminism on the general populace of women. Since the original question was plural (men and women, not man and woman), it's easy to understand that this was in general, and not about specific cases. Its seems as if there are some women who feel the need tell the world they're "as good (or better)" than men...like it's some kind of merit badge. I wish they could simply learn to be happy with being women...which is what they are.