Mathematics: Girls’ and boys’ brains work the same way

It’s one more cliché between girls and boys that breaks down: neither sex has more of a “maths bump” than the other. This notion propagates the myth that mathematical abilities have been affected by gender and that women do not thrive in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields due to biological deficiencies in mathematics. A study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania (USA) definitively breaks the pre-established notion that the brains of boys and girls do not have the same capacity in mathematics. The study was published Nov. 8 in the journal Science of Learning.

For Jessica Cantlon, chair of developmental neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University and lead author of the paper, “the science does not match popular beliefs in the research we conducted showing that children’s brains also works regardless of their gender.”

Similar results

The study has the potential to help recalibrate expectations of what children can achieve in math, according to Jessica Cantlon. The study she and her team conducted is the first to assess biological sex differences in math skills in young children based on neuroimaging analysis.

Using MRI to measure the brain activity of 104 children aged 3 to 10 (55 girls and 49 boys) while watching an educational video covering early childhood math topics, such as counting and addition, the team assessed the brain similarity and maturity of boys and girls by comparing test scores with a group of 63 adults (25 women and 38 men) who watched the same math videos.

Numerous statistical comparisons revealed that there was no difference in the brain development of girls and boys. The team also found that there was absolutely no difference in how boys and girls handled math problems. They also found that the brain maturity of the boys and girls was statistically equivalent to that of the men and women in the adult group.

Alyssa Kersey, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago and co-author of the study, says: “It’s not just that boys and girls use the mathematical network in the same way, but that the similarities are evident throughout the brain. It’s an important reminder that humans are more alike than different.”

During their research, the researchers also compared the results of a standardized test for children aged 3 to 8, the TEMA for Test of Early Mathematics Ability, in which 97 participants (50 girls and 47 boys) took part, to assess the rate of development of mathematics. They found that math ability was equivalent among children and showed no differences by gender or age.

Different treatment based on gender

According to Jessica Cantlon, the study broke down the societal and cultural bias that had steered girls and young women away from the fields of math and science, technology, engineering and math. She points out that families spend more time playing with young boys, which helps with spatial cognition, and later boys are preferred over girls in math class, which also predicts their future outcomes.

“Typical socialization can exacerbate small differences between boys and girls that have a snowball effect on how we treat them in science and math,” Cantlon said. We need to be aware of these origins to ensure that we are not the ones causing gender inequality.”

After embarking on this project focused on early childhood development using a limited set of mathematical tasks, Jessica Cantlon wants to continue this work using a wider range of mathematical skills, such as spatial processing and memory, and follow the children over several years.