WOMEN'S BUT NOT MEN'S ABILITY TO IDENTIFY THE TWO‑DIMENSIONAL CROSS SECTION OF A 3D OBJECTS IS RELATED TO SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL FACTORS

Sex and sex hormones influence spatial abilities. However, the effect of hormonal contraceptives is underinvestigated. Spatial cognition is also influenced by socio-cultural factors and individual differences. We aimed to evaluate the influence of biological, non-biological factors and interaction between them on spatial abilities assessed using Cross Section Task (CST). 33 men and 117 women participated in the study. Women were divided into: oral contraceptives users (OC, n=26), intrauterine device users (IUD, n=31), naturally cycling women in follicular phase (NCF, n=35) and in mid-luteal phase (NCL, n=25). Participants performed paper-pencil CST and completed questionnaires assessing demographic information, masculinity and femininity, fatigue, emotional arousal, etc. Men outperformed NC women and OC, but not IUD users. Multiple regression analysis was performed to predict performance based on demographic, hormonal status, masculinity, femininity score, and emotional arousal for women and men separately. Interestingly, the regression models revealed significant predictors for women, but not men. Women's performance was negatively related to emotional arousal, but positively to occupation in STEM field and masculinity score. Overall, study results suggest that men, regardless of individual characteristics, perform CST task better than women. Whereas different biological and social factors affect women's performance.