Table of Contents

1. Why Should We Study Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities? 2. Searching For Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities. 3. Empirical Evidence for Cognitive Sex Differences. 4. Biological Hypotheses Part I: Genes and Hormones. 5. Biological Hypotheses Part II: Brains, Evolutionary Pressures, and Brain-Behavior Relationships. 6. Psychosocial Hypotheses Part I: Sex Role Stereotypes Throughout the Life Span. 7. Psychosocial Hypotheses Part II: Theoretical Perspectives for Understanding the Role of Psychosocial Variables. 8. Using a Biopsychosocial Perspective to Understand Cognitive Sex Differences.

About the Author

Diane F. Halpern is the Trustee Professor of Psychology and Roberts Fellow at Claremont McKenna College. She is a past-president of the American Psychological Association, the Western Psychological Association, the Society for General Psychology, and the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. Professor Halpern has won many awards for her teaching and research, including the Outstanding Professor Award from the Western Psychological Association (2002); the 1999 American Psychological Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching; 1996 Distinguished Career Award for Contributions to Education given by the American Psychological Association; the California State University's State-Wide Outstanding Professor Award; the Outstanding Alumna Award from the University of Cincinnati; the Silver Medal Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education; the Wang Family Excellence Award; and the G. Stanley Hall Lecture Award from the American Psychological Association.

Reviews

"Diane Halpern's book addresses one of the hottest topics in science--the one that got Larry Summers in to so much trouble. Halpern reviews the relevant science to determine whether sex differences in cognitive abilities exist, and, if they do, what causes them. She presents this information in cogent, accessible prose. Psychology students will appreciate this excellent text as would anyone interested in what science has to say about the cognitive abilities of women and men." -Alice H. Eagly, Ph.D., Northwestern University, USA "This new edition is engagingly written and makes complex concepts accessible to a broad audience. I know how difficult it can be to communicate this biopsychosocial perspective without being seen as a radical by those who want to claim that all sex (and individual) differences are biologically determined, and those who want to claim that all differences are due to environmental factors. I think that Diane Halpern navigates the middle ground of the interactionist perspective very well." -Mary Hegarty, Ph.D., University of California Santa Barbara, USA "Since the first edition more than 25 years ago, Halpern's book has been the 'go-to' source for a thoughtful, scholarly summary and reflection on sex differences in cognitive abilities. This new edition continues that tradition, and incorporates cutting-edge research from the field of neuroscience. Even more important, Halpern's ability to make sense of these complex findings in an even-handed way is unsurpassed. This book belongs in the libraries of everyone with an interest in this field." - Judith E. Owen Blakemore, Ph.D., Indiana University, Purdue University, Fort Wayne, USA "Diane Halpern's writing style is engaging and humorous, while at the same time presenting rigorous scholarly work. The research presented is accessible, comprehensive, and up to date." -Patricia Puccio, Ed.D., College of DuPage, USA "This new edition summarizes a complex area of research, navigates effortlessly between being politically correct and incorrect, and presents a framework that helps in the understanding of cognitive sex differences." -Agneta Herlitz, Ph.D., Karolinska Institutet, Sweden