Spatial rotation and recognizing emotions: Gender related differences in brain activity

In three experiments, gender and ability (performance and emotional intelligence) related differences in brain activity – assessed with EEG methodology – while respondents were solving a spatial rotation tasks and identifying emotions in faces were investigated. The most robust gender related difference in brain activity was observed in the lower-2 alpha band. Males and females displayed an inverse IQ-activation relationship in just that domain in which they usually perform better: females in the emotional intelligence domain, and males in the visuospatial ability domain. A similar pattern of brain activity could also be observed for the male/female respondents with different levels of performance and emotional IQ. It was suggested that high ability representatives of both genders to some extent compensate for their inferior problem solving skills (males in emotional tasks and females in spatial rotation tasks) by increasing their level of attention.