Effect van Sekse op de Executieve Functies

Abstract

The current study focused on the effects of gender on the executive functions updating, inhibition, and shifting. The effects of gender on each of the aforementioned executive functions were examined individually. The sample consisted of 117 students aged 8 to 12 years. The research was conducted at a Dutch elementary school. The executive function updating was divided in verbal updating and visual updating. To measure verbal updating the Monkey game (nboys= 38, ngirls= 45) was used, where as visual updating was measured with the Lion game (nboys= 38, ngirls= 45), the proportion of correct answers determined the score in both variables. Inhibition (nboys= 48, ngirls= 48) and shifting (nboys= 44, ngirls= 45) were measured with the variables reaction time and accuracy, this was done with a Dutch instrument called “the Fishgame”. The MANOVA analyses indicated that gender had a significant effect on updating (p = .009), girls scored significantly higher than boys. This effect was visible on verbal updating as well as visual updating. However, gender did not significantly affect inhibition or shifting. Possible explanations are that girls develop better updating skills due to hormonal changes that occur at the age of 11. The absence of significant results of the effects of gender on inhibition and shifting could be caused by the equally effective cerebral pathways used by boys and girls or the small amount of trials that the instrument consisted of. In order to make specific statements about the effects of gender on these executive functions further research is necessary.