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

<p>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. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts - Psychology

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Wood, Katheryne Renee

Contributors dc:contributor

• Steven Estrada, Ph.D.
• Kyle Conlon, Ph.D.
• Catherine Pearte, Ph.D.

• mental rotation
• memory
• gender
• gender minorities
• nonbinary
• cognitive performance
• Cognition and Perception
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Personality and Social Contexts
• Psychology
• Social Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/606

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.sfasu.edu:etds-1649