So
strawberrycocoa linked to this british Brain Sex ID thing. It was kinda cool and took about 30 minutes.
The
scale below is an indication of where you fall in the male/female brain
continuum. The results are based on the four mind tests only - angles,
spot the difference, 3D shapes and words.
Bear in mind that your performance may be affected by many factors in addition to gender, like age and intelligence.
Part 1
Angles
This
task tested your ability to identify the angle of a line by matching it
with its twin. This is a spatial task, which looks at how you picture
space.
Your score: 15 out of 20
Average score for men: 16.4
Average score for women: 14.7
What does your result suggest?
If you scored 0 - 12:
You have more of a female brain. Scientists believe that people with a
female brain find it more difficult to judge the slope of a line
because they're not wired for spatial tasks. In past studies, 65 per
cent of people who scored in this range were women.
If you scored 13 - 17:
You found this test neither hard nor easy. This suggests your brain has
male and female traits when it comes to spatial ability.
If you scored 18 - 20:
You have more of a male brain. On average, men outperform women in this
task and those with more mathematical knowledge tend to score quite
high as well. In past studies, 60 per cent of the people in this range
were men.
Interestingly, men's testosterone levels fluctuate through the
seasons and studies have shown that men's scores are lower in the
spring, when their testosterone levels are at their lowest.
Do our cave dwelling ancestors offer us any clues about why men and women score differently on this task?
Find out more.
Spot the difference
This task tested your ability to identify which objects changed position
Your score: 57%
Average score for men: 42%
Average score for women: 57%
What does your score suggest?
If you scored between 1 - 33%: You
may have more of a male brain. Scientists say men tend to under perform
in this task. The corpus callosum, the part of the brain that links the
right and left hemispheres, is a fifth larger in women. This means
women can process visual and other signals at the same time more easily
than men. There is also a theory that oestrogen levels in women give
them an added advantage in spatial memory.
If you scored between 34 - 66%: You may have a balanced female-male brain.
If you scored between 67 - 100%:
Those with a female-type brain generally score in this range. Your
ability to remember where objects are may serve as an advantage to you
when you're trying to find your way around places. You're more capable
of recalling landmarks to get from one place to another.
Find out more about our
spatial abilities.
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Part 2
Hands
You said your RIGHT thumb was on top when you clasped your hands together.
Right thumb on top: This suggests the left half of
your brain is dominant. Many studies have tried to establish whether
there is a relationship between handedness and brain dominance. Some
scientists believe that if you are left brain dominant, you would be
more verbal and analytical.
Left thumb on top: This suggests the right half of
your brain is dominant. Some studies theorise that as a right brain
dominant person, you may excel in visual, spatial and intuitive
processes.
However, these theories are debatable and leave much to be said about the small percentage of people who are ambidextrous.
Find out why right-brained people may be
better fighters and artists.
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Part 3
Emotions and Systems
This task looked at whether you prefer to empathise or systemise.
Empathy
Your empathy score is: 4 out of 20
Average score for men: 4 - 12
Average score for women: 8 - 15
What does your result suggest?
Empathisers are better at accurately judging other people's emotions
and responding appropriately. If you scored 15 and above, you are very
empathic and would be an ideal person to comfort people in a time of
crisis. Women in general are better at empathising.
Systemising
Your systemising score is:
14 out of 20
Average score for men: 8 - 16
Average score for women: 3 - 12
What does your result suggest?
Systemisers prefer to investigate how systems work. A system can be a
road map, flat pack furniture, or a mathematical equation, anything
that follows a set of rules. A score of 15 and above suggests you're
good at analysing or building systems. Men in general are better at
systemising.
Scientists
are keen to learn more about people who score high or low on both
tests. They want to find out whether or not empathising and systemising
are linked. Is a possible to make yourself more empathic?
Some scientists claim that our empathy and systemising abilities can be traced all the way back to prehistoric times.
Find out more.
Eyes
This task tested your ability to judge people's emotions.
Your score: 9 out of 10
Average score: 6 - 9
What does your result suggest?
If you scored 0 - 3: Do you think you're good at judging how another
person is feeling? Your score suggests this doesn't come to you quite
so naturally.
If
you scored 4 - 6: Your result suggests you have a balanced female-male
brain and find it neither easy nor difficult to judge people's
emotions.
If you scored 7 - 10: Your result suggests
you are a good empathiser, sensitive to other people's emotions. Women
generally fall into this category.
Professor Baron-Cohen at the University of Cambridge says that people usually perform better than they expect to on this test.
Men often think a person's eyes are sending signals of desire when that's not the case at all.
Find out more.
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Part 4
Fingers
We asked for the measurements of your ring and index finger. Your ratio came to:
Right Hand: 0.94
Left Hand: 0.93
Average ratio for men: .96
Average ratio for women: 1.00
It's thought that your ratio is governed by the amount of
testosterone you were exposed to in your mother's womb. The ratio of
the length of your index finger to the length of your ring finger is
set for life by as early as three months after conception. Even during
puberty, when we experience intensive hormonal changes, the ratio stays
the same.
Men generally have a ring finger that is longer than their index
finger, which gives them a lower ratio than women, whose ring and index
fingers are usually of equal length.
Studies have found that men and women with lots of brothers generally have more masculine finger ratios.
Find out what other things scientists think our ratios may tell us.
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Part 5
Faces
This
task looked at how you rate the attractiveness of a series of faces.
The images you looked at were digitally altered to create slight
differences in masculinity.
Your choices suggest you prefer more feminine faces.
Highly masculinised male faces possess more extreme testosterone
markers such as a long, broad and lower jaw, as well as more pronounced
brow ridges and cheekbones.
Interestingly, women's preferences are said to vary across the
menstrual phase. A more masculine face is preferred during the 9 days
prior to ovulation, when conception is most likely.
A typical 'attractive' female face possesses features such as a
shorter, narrower, lower jaw, fuller lips and larger eyes than an
average face.
Are you surprised at what researchers think they can learn from your answers?
Find out more.
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Part 6
3D shapes
This task tested your ability to mentally rotate 3D shapes.
Your score:
10 out of 12
Average score for men: 8.4
Average score for women: 6.4
What does your result suggest?
If you scored 0 - 6:
Do you find yourself having to physically rotate a map to point in the
direction in which you're travelling? This might explain why you scored
in the lower range in the 3D shapes test. Twice as many women as men
score in this category. Previous studies suggest that those with a
female-type brain or with an arts background fall into this range.
If you scored 7 - 9: In past studies, 50 per cent of the people who scored in this range were women and 50 per cent were men.
If you scored 10 - 12: Are you an engineer or do
you have a science background? People with these skills tend to score
in this range. Past studies have concluded that people in this range
have a more male brain.
Nearly a third of men who took this test got full marks, whereas less than 10 per cent of women managed the same.
Find out why.
Words
This task looked at your verbal fluency.
You associated
7
word(s) with GREY and you named
7 word(s) that mean happy. We are assuming that all the words
you entered are correct. Scientists will be analysing your results in
more detail.
Average score: 6 - 10 words
What do your results suggest?
If you produced 1 - 5 words: You are more of the strong, silent type
with a male brain. You probably find it easier to express yourself in
non-verbal ways, preferring action rather than words.
If you produced 6 - 10 words: Most people in this range have a female-type brain.
Women are said to use both sides of the brain when doing verbal
tasks while men mainly use their left side. Studies have shown that
girls develop vocabulary faster than boys. This difference in brain
power is caused by levels of pre-natal testosterone.
Find out more .
Ultimatum
This task asked you how you would divide money.
If someone offered you £50, you said you would demand £15.
On average, people offer 35 to 40% of the pot.
Sex differences are small in this task. An offer of more than 40 per
cent of the pot (ie £20) is more typically female and an offer of less
than 35 per cent of the pot (ie £17.50) is more typically male.
Scientists believe that people with lower testosterone levels tend
to take fewer risks so they are probably more willing to keep less for
themselves. Those with higher testosterone levels tend to drive a
harder bargain and are less compromising.
Men's testosterone levels fluctuate over the seasons and are at
their lowest levels during the springtime. This is said to influence
their bargaining power. Find out more about the
role of testosterone.