Effects Of Hormones On Learning Performance

Whether boy or girl, no matter how equal one group gets to each other, there will always be differences between them. However, do innate gender differences influence how children learn? According to Kelley King, Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens, the answer is yes. In contrast, according to Lise Eliot, the answer is no.

Gender differences have been recorded by researches from single neurons in the cell to system level processes (Cahill 2006), and certain scientists proposed that sex hormones influence the development of prefrontal cortex, and this is supposed to be the cause of the differences in working memory performance (Duff & Hampson, 2001). This study further investigated the existence and nature of this gender difference. A sample of 497 Monash University psychology undergraduates (385 females and 112 males; ages 18 – 64) were recruited for this study. Working memory performance was tested with online 'spatial working memory ' test, and 2D:4D finger length ratio was used as an indirect measure of sex hormone levels. The results revealed no sex differences in the working memory performance, but variance in 2D:4D ratio – females had a larger ratio than males. Memory reaction time was negatively correlated with 2D:4D ratio, thus, females had a quicker reaction time.

However in regards to general results between both genders it was shown that no definite statistical mean yielded notable results (Alansari & Baroun, 2004). Stroop (1935) also showed that women college students also showed a difference when compared to the men and tended to have higher word reading results, but in regards to the genders showed no significant differentiation between both at the cognitive level.

Gurian presented six differences between males and females in Chapter 1, including chemical, hormonal, and emotion processing, and how they influence an individuals learning process. The chemicals serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin, estrogen and testosterone are processed differently in males and females. Males have 52 percent more serotonin, which regulates mood and anxiety levels, than females. Females with lower serotonin levels often suffer from depression, while males are often identified as Attention Deficit. Another chemical, dopamine, a neurotransmitter, controls the brain's reward and pleasure centers as well as helping to regulate movement and emotional responses. Dopamine can be stimulated differently in males and females effecting movement, increased chances of addiction, difficulty with paying attention, impulsivity, and more sensation-seeking individuals dependent upon their concentrations. Although, oxytocin, vasopressin, estrogen and testosterone are chemicals produced by the body, they are created by hormones.

Differences in brain structure between males and females result in important differences in perceptions, emotional expressions, priorities and behaviors. (*) Relationship traits, problem solving approaches, mathematical abilities, reactions to stress, language, emotions, brain size, pain perception, spatial ability and susceptibility to disorders are just some areas in which men and women react differently because of their differences in brain structure. (*) To some scientists and theorists these many influential biological differences between men and women make gender roles inevitable. (*)

Infants of both genders have the same capacity for proficiency in math, but as they get older, more barriers seem to appear, which separate the results of males and females (Spelke). Women have one major barrier that men do not have: their responsibility to bear children and tend the household. This lead some females to believe that they do not have to excel in math and science fields, or at school in general, because they will one day stay at home and take care of their children and family. While women must focus on both their family and their studies, men can work and study without this pressure (Sternberg). Researchers have identified other differences between males and females, including advanced spatial skills in males and superior verbal skills in females (Spelke). The studies collected, however, do not supply sufficient information on gender differences, and therefore lack enough data to support any findings

In her scientific work Sex Differences in the Brain Kimura analysis several key differences that cause men and women to excel in various tasks and jobs due to naturally occurring phenomenon in the body and

But they couldn’t be more wrong. Victoria M. Indivero of Penn State News’s ‘Sex segregation in schools, detrimental to equality’ say,”Neuroscientist have found a few difference between male and female brains, but none have been linked to different learning styles.” And to further back up this claim, I have Gina Rippon of Neuroscience News’s ‘Are Female and Male brains really different.’Which states,”It can be shown that a ‘characteristically male’ density of dendritic spines or branches of a neuro cell can be changed to the ‘female’ form simply by the application of a mild external stress. Biological sex alone cannot explain brain differences; to do so requires an understanding of how, when, and to what extent external events affect the struggle of the brain.” So as you can see the gender of the host does not determine nor change any aspect on the brain. It all has to do with the uniqueness of the brain and what happens outside it to the rest of the body that determines exactly what is need for living and learning. For example, if someone had been in a traumatizing car accident, but he was a young boy, it would be best not to stick him into a classroom that is littered with pictures and pictures of cars because they are seen as ‘boyish’. The things we do and happen to us as people

Thus, concluding that the explanation of biological, psychodynamic and learning approaches does influence on gender development. Each of these approaches explains how gender is developed in their own way. From the biological approach, we found out that gender differences are seen as resulting from sex differences. In other words, women and men act, think and feel differently because of differences in how their brains work. These brain differences may result from chromosomal differences and may also be the result of hormonal differences.

“Men and women have different levels of certain hormones; for example, men have a higher concentration of androgens such as testosterone, while women have a higher concentration of estrogens.” (Steadyhealth website, 2015, Difference between male and female structures (Mental and Physical))

In a study conducted by Mrazik and Dombrowski (2010), prenatal testosterone exposure has been linked to children with high mental abilities. Testosterone influences the right side of the brain, which is where our science, mathematics, reasoning and abstract thinking take place. There is evidence that excessive prenatal exposure to testosterone facilitates increased connections in the brain, especially in the right prefrontal cortex. Children that have above-average intelligence have very highly developed brain networks in that specific area that is influenced by testosterone. While this study claims that excessive prenatal exposure to testosterone leads to higher intelligence, the origin of the exposure to testosterone is still unclear. Previous

2581). The questions of if and how gender plays a role in a person's STM capabilities and working memory is one that has been visited and revisited over time, but has generally yielded fairly consistent results: one sex does not dominate the other in terms of which has a more functional STM, rather, men and women maintain their own respective skills regarding different areas of STM ("Sex Differences in Memory"; Loftus et al. 82).

Dr. Laura Allen has spent years studying the brain tissue of both boys and girls. She said, "As I began to look at the human brain more and more, I kept finding differences, and about 7 or 8 of the 10 structures that were actually measured turned out to be different between men and women" (Men, Women). Basically, it is best to always try to learn about human nature, that way we can educate people to prevent them from misusing the information. She claims, "knowledge we get is better, we can alter our education system for more equality" (Men, Women).

Medical researchers have been aware for a long time that the male and female brain is different in size. In 2001, researchers from Harvard found certain parts of the brain were differently sized in males and females; this may answer some of the questions about the difference in the male and female brain in regards to development and

Knowing the differences in the brain begins to give some understanding on how and why females and males learn differently. There are many basic differences in learning. Like stated previously females are better at verbal skills which makes them better at reading and writing and causes them to use words as they learn, and males are better