Empathizing, systemizing and finger length ratio in a Swedish sample

Abstract

The Empathy- and Systemizing Quotients (EQ and SQ, respectively; Baron-Cohen, 2003) were determined in a Swedish sample consisting mainly of university undergraduates. Females had significantly higher EQ than males, who in turn scored higher on the SQ inventory. Gender explained 12-14% of the variation. Males were strikingly overrepresented in the group defined by a high SQ/low EQ profile or by a large SQ - EQ difference; females dominated among people with a low SQ/high EQ profile or by a large EQ - SQ difference. Students majoring in the natural sciences had higher SQs than psychology majors, but in both groups the gender difference in SQ and EQ was strong. For each participant a weighted composite score was generated by multivariate processing of the EQ and SQ data (Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis). These scores were associated in a sex-linked fashion to a biometric measure reflecting prenatal testosterone exposure, i.e. the ratio between index (2D)- and ring (4D) finger lengths. In males a high (female-typical) 2D:4D ratio predicted an enhanced tendency to empathize and a reduced tendency to systemize; in women, by contrast, the 2D:4D ratio was unrelated to these traits. The present research confirms earlier work of a gender difference in EQ and SQ. The difference appears robust as it appears as large in Sweden (a country with high cultural gender-equality) as in countries with considerably lower gender-equality.

The Relationship Between Systemising and Mental Rotation and the Implications for the Extreme Male Brain Theory of Autism

“…This could suggest that systemising is influenced by circulating testosterone. Consistent with other research, no relationship was identified between digit ratio and systemising in a normal population (Voracek and Dressler 2006;von Horn et al 2009) suggesting that systemising is not influenced by prenatal testosterone exposure.…”

Science adjustment, parental and teacher autonomy support and the cognitive orientation of science students

“…There seem to be innate biological causes for the differences (Baron-Cohen et al, 2003;Von Horn, Bäckman, Davidsson, & Hansen, 2010). Research has shown that the majority of students who choose to study science have a highly systemizing cognitive orientation, even if we cannot be sure if this was present prior to study or if it was grown or reinforced via science study (Billington, Baron-Cohen, & Wheelwright, 2007).…”

Feminist activist women are masculinized in terms of digit-ratio and social dominance: a possible explanation for the feminist paradox

“…We are aware of only three studies that have measured 2D:4D in Swedish women, with 24 (Sanders et al, 2005), 48 (Troche et al, 2007), and 185 participants (von Horn et al, 2010). All of these measured finger lengths directly with calipers, which has been found to yield 2D:4Ds slightly higher for men (0.03) and lower for women (Dressler and Voracek, 2011: 0.03, n.s.)…”

“…This is because combining the Troche et al (2007) comparison sample with the Sanders et al (2005) and von Horn et al (2010) samples would have inflated the differences as their reported 2D:4D were larger (means across hands were 1.01 and 0.98, respectively). In order to reject the possibility that the Swedish comparison samples were unrepresentative, given their small N , we also compared the present sample with the grand mean across a large number of studies that used a comparable measurement method.…”