The vulnerable male brain: Men's spatial abilities are condition-dependent, sexually selected traits

Abstract

Traits that are exaggerated in one sex relative to the other sex might be more vulnerable to stressor exposure because the development and expression of these traits are costly. Sex differences in such traits should therefore be smaller in populations with high stressor exposure. We tested this prediction in humans by examining the magnitude of men's advantage in spatial cognition and women's advantage in emotion recognition across nations that varied in their level of development. As predicted, men's advantage in spatial cognition was larger in nations relatively buffered from stressors. However, in contrast to our prediction, women's advantage in emotion recognition was constant across nations, suggesting aspects of men's cognition might be particularly vulnerable to early or current conditions. The samples were biased toward higher income and healthier individuals for nations in which men's spatial cognition was compromised; thus, we are likely underestimating the effects of living conditions on men's spatial cognition. The results further our understanding of how social and environmental conditions can have sex-specific effects on human cognition.