Females outperform males on WISC processing speed (gS) with a medium advantage (d = -0.37), larger for Coding than Symbol search¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (3 entries) · quant-synthesis r3 · q3 · i1–i2
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i1 The pooled gS effect significantly favours females (d = -0.37), equivalent to roughly -5.49 IQ points. → D. Giofrè · K. Allen · E. Toffalini · S. Caviola 2022 q3 i2 The female advantage is substantially larger for Coding (d = -0.42) than for Symbol search (d = -0.15). → D. Giofrè · K. Allen · E. Toffalini · S. Caviola 2022 (2) q3 i? The old/new battery version significantly moderated the gS effect, which was larger with older versions (d = -0.46) than newer ones (d = -0.26). → D. Giofrè · K. Allen · E. Toffalini · S. Caviola 2022 (3)

Evidence¶

D. Giofrè · K. Allen · E. Toffalini · S. Caviola 2022¶

D. Giofrè · K. Allen · E. Toffalini · S. Caviola. (2022). The Impasse on Gender Differences in Intelligence: a Meta-Analysis on WISC Batteries. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-022-09705-1

q3 · i1 · quant-synthesis · r3

Meta-analysis of 34 studies (53 samples) for the gS factor; heterogeneity was substantial (I2 = 79.42), and the standardization-sample estimate was similar (d = -0.30).

"The estimated mean effect size was significant and medium, with higher scores in females than in males, d = -0.37 [-0.44, -0.30], p < 0.001."

D. Giofrè · K. Allen · E. Toffalini · S. Caviola 2022 (2)¶

D. Giofrè · K. Allen · E. Toffalini · S. Caviola. (2022). The Impasse on Gender Differences in Intelligence: a Meta-Analysis on WISC Batteries. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-022-09705-1

q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r3

Subtest-level meta-analysis (Table 2) of the two gS subtests; the article notes female superiority appeared in virtually all included studies with very few exceptions.

"both effect sizes were significantly in favour of females over males, but the estimated mean effect size was substantially larger for Coding, d = -0.42 [-0.49, -0.34], than for Symbol search, d = -0.15 [-0.24, -0.06]."

D. Giofrè · K. Allen · E. Toffalini · S. Caviola 2022 (3)¶

D. Giofrè · K. Allen · E. Toffalini · S. Caviola. (2022). The Impasse on Gender Differences in Intelligence: a Meta-Analysis on WISC Batteries. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-022-09705-1

q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r3

Meta-regression moderator test on the gS factor; the female advantage persisted in both old and new batteries but was smaller with newer versions.

"The old/new version of the battery was a significant moderator of the effect size, χ2(1) = 9.32, p = 0.002; the effect was larger when estimated with older versions of the battery, d = -0.46 [-0.56, -0.36] than with newer versions, d = -0.26 [-0.34, -0.19]."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Gender differences on WISC subtests and factors are generally smaller or unchanged with newer WISC versions, never larger — related
• Males outperform females on WISC visual processing (gV) with a small advantage (d = 0.21), stable across battery versions — related
• Males show a statistically significant but practically negligible advantage on WISC Full-Scale IQ (d = 0.09), which becomes non-significant with newer WISC versions — related
• Males show a small but significant advantage on WISC crystallized intelligence (gC, d = 0.14), driven mainly by the Information subtest — related
• Gender differences in fluid intelligence (gF) on the WISC are negligible, and newer fluid-reasoning subtests show no difference or favour females — related
• Children with ADHD perform worse than controls on WISC-IV Coding but not on Coding Copy, indicating deficits beyond graphomotor speed — related