Sex differences in semantic processing among Argentine preschool children

Abstract

Evidence of sex differences in verbal fluency tasks has yielded divergent results. Several studies suggest that women retrieve more exemplars from the living things domain, while men perform better in the object domain. These differences have been explained either by the influence of evolution on conceptual organization or by the different cultural interests between sexes. However, studies conducted with children remain scarce. The aim of the present study is to compare the performance of preschool-aged boys and girls on a semantic fluency task, to examine whether sex-based differences exist. Data were collected across 13 semantic categories from both semantic domains. The results identified a significant advantage for girls in the living things domain, primarily due to their superior performance in body parts. Girls also retrieved a greater number of exemplars of clothing, colors, and kitchen utensils. These findings may be interpreted as evidence of the early cultural impact on semantic processing and conceptual organization.