Two measures of spatial ability were administered to 319 undergraduates, 93 parents, and 62 siblings. Although males outperformed females on both tests, the resulting correlational pattern did not conform to the trait pattern hypothesized on the basis of an X-linked recessive trait. Results from a pedigree analysis, however, were in the expected direction. The inclusion of pedigree analyses is urged in future research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BockR. D.KolakowskiD. D.Further evidence of sex-linked major-gene influence on spatial visualization ability. American Journal of Human Genetics, 1973, 25, 1–14.
2.
DayN. E.Estimating components of a mixture of normal distributions. Biometrika, 1969, 56, 463–474.
3.
DefriesJ.AshtonG.JohnsonR.KuseA.McClearnG.MiM.RashadM.VandenbergS.WilsonJ.Parent-offspring resemblance for specific abilities in two ethnic groups. Nature, 1976, 261, 131–133.
4.
EliotJ.PriceL.Eliot-Price Tests. College Park, Md.: Univer. of Maryland Press, 1974.
5.
FrenchJ. W.Description of aptitude and achievement tests in terms of rotated factors. Psychometric Monographs, 1951, Whole No. 5.
6.
GulliksenH.Identical Blocks Test. Author, Penn State Univer., 1962.
7.
HartlageL. C.Sex-linked inheritance of spatial ability. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1970, 31, 610.
8.
JohnsonR.DeFriesJ.WilsonJ.McClearnG.VandenbergS.AshtonG.MiM.RashadM.Assortive mating for specific cognitive abilities in two age groups. Human Biology, 1976, 48, 343–352.
9.
McGeeM. G.Intrafamilial correlations and heredibility estimates for spatial ability in a Minnesota sample. Behavior Genetics, 1978, 8, 77–80.
10.
McKusickV. A.Human genetics. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1969.
11.
ParkJ.JohnsonR.DefriesJ.AshtonG.McClearnM.MiM.RashadM.VandenbergS.WilsonJ.Patent-offspring resemblance for specific cognitive abilities in Korea. Behavior Genetics, 1978, 8, 43–52.
12.
PriceL.EliotJ.Convergent and discriminant validities of two sets of measures of spatial orientation and visualization. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1974, 35, 975–977.
13.
ShermanJ. A.Problems of sex differences in space perception and aspects of intellectual functioning. Psychological Review, 1967, 74, 290–299.
14.
StaffordR. E.Sex differences in spatial visualization as evidence of sex-linked inheritance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1961, 13, 428.
15.
SternC.Principles of human genetics. San Francisco: Freeman, 1973.
16.
YenW. M.Independence of hand preference and sex-linked genetic effects on spatial performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1975, 41, 311–318. (a)
17.
YenW. M.Sex-linked major-gene influences on selected types of spatial performance. Behavior Genetics, 1975, 5, 281–298. (b)