Citation

Silverman IW. Sex Roles 2006; 54(1-2): 57-68.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11199-006-8869-6

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that the magnitude of sex differences in simple visual reaction time (RT) has narrowed across time, a meta-analysis was conducted on 72 effect sizes derived from 21 studies (n=15,003) published over a 73-year period. The analysis provided strong evidence for the hypothesized change. In addition, the analysis indicated that the sex difference in RT was on average smaller with non-U.S. samples than with U.S. samples. No relation was found between the magnitude of the sex difference in RT and age or presence vs. absence of a warning signal. Two factors–-participation in fast-action sports and driving–-are proposed as having been responsible for the decrease in the magnitude of the sex differences in simple visual RT across time.