| Description |
Sex differences in spatial ability and navigation are well documented. Although several theories explain a subset of these findings, a comprehensive theory has yet to be offered and tested. As such, we provide evidence that co-occurring evolutionary pressures shaping male and female range sizes lead to the use of different navigation strategies, which produce differences in self-reported spatial anxiety and sense of direction. Next, we provide experimental evidence testing two important implications of our model. First, if the co-occurring evolutionary pressures producing differences in range size are functional, then they ought to shape how males and females explore a novel environment. In our experiment, males demonstrated a higher rate of diffusion than females (e.g., spreading throughout the space more quickly), and females demonstrated more caution while exploring a novel, large-scale virtual environment. Second, maintaining a larger range size places greater demands on male navigation, which not only leads to the use of a different navigation strategy, but also to better navigation performance. At first glance, there is inconclusive evidence in support of superior male navigation ability. A closer look reveals that sex differences in navigation often emerge when individuals are allowed to freely explore the environment prior to testing. Given the expected sex differences in exploration behavior predicted by our model, we provide evidence that features characteristic of male exploration also offer the individual a wealth of spatial information that may lead to better navigation performance. |
