This article is from the Irish Examiner. Is it science, or chauvinist drivel?
Bad women drivers: not a myth trumpeted by men, say scientists
By John von Radowitz
WOMEN find it difficult to read maps and park cars because of their experience in the womb, scientists claim.
They are generally exposed to less of the male hormone testosterone before birth than men.
This reduces their spatial ability in later life, say scientists. It also leaves a tell-tale imprint on their hands. Low pre-natal testosterone has genetic effects which cause the wedding ring finger to grow significantly shorter than the index finger.
People whose ring and index fingers are close to the same length make better navigators, according to the research.
Spatial skill is the ability to assess and orientate shapes and spaces.
Map reading and parking cars are two spatial skills often cited (by men) as deficient in women.
The belief is dismissed as a myth (by women) but the new findings indicate it might contain more than a grain of truth.
A team led by Petra Kempel, from the University of Giessen in Germany, tested the spatial, verbal and numerical skills of 40 mostly student volunteers of both sexes. She also measured the '2D:4D' ratio of the second and fourth fingers of the participants. The ratio was significantly lower in males than in females, whose fingers were generally more the same length.
The results of the spatial tests, reported in the journal Intelligence, showed that men achieved higher spatial scores than women.
But more significantly, women with the male pattern of finger length ratio did better than those with lower ratios. They also scored better on the numerical tests.
The researchers wrote: "Females who exhibit a 'male-like' finger length ratio pattern (low 2D:4D), which is associated with a higher prenatal level of T (testosterone), outperform females who display higher digit ratios on numerical as well as on spatial abilities.
The finding of such a great difference in spatial IQ in females according to a high or low 2D:4D is remarkable."
Previous studies have shown a correlation between low second and fourth finger ratios and autism, homosexuality and musical ability as well as spatial skills.
It has been suggested that very high levels of foetal testosterone might be directly linked to autism, which is much more common in boys.
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