Differences in Performance in Mental Rotation and Short-Term Free Recall in Gender Minorities

Author

Katheryne Renee Wood, Stephen F. Austin State UniversityFollow

Date of Award

4-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts - Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Steven Estrada, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Kyle Conlon, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Catherine Pearte, Ph.D.

Fourth Advisor

Victoria Wagner-Greene, Ph.D.

Abstract

The study examined mental rotation, short-term free recall, state anxiety, and gender expression through masculinity and femininity. This study addressed gaps in literature examining gender differences in gender minority groups by investigating gender differences in two tasks: mental rotation and short-term recall. Participants are categorized into four gender groups: cisgender men, cisgender women, non-binary, and binary transgender. In accordance with previous literature, it was hypothesized that men would outperform women in mental rotation, women would outperform men in short-term free recall performance, and that non-binary individuals would operate separately from other groups. Anxiety was recorded as a possible covariate, but analyses did not support covariation. Transgender binary and non-binary groups outperformed men and women in mental rotation and short-term free recall, but binary transgender and non-binary individuals were not different in their performance. Mental rotation accuracy and masculinity scores were more effective in separating groups in follow-up analyses.

Repository Citation

Wood, Katheryne Renee, "Differences in Performance in Mental Rotation and Short-Term Free Recall in Gender Minorities" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 606.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/606

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.