Sex differences in the processing of temporal information in the sub-second range

Processing of temporal information in the sub-second range appears to be controlled by an automatic timing system. The present study examined sex-related differences in this temporal domain. For this purpose, 132 male and 144 female participants ranging in age from 18 to 39 years completed five different psychophysical timing tasks. Reliably better timing performance in males compared to females could be shown for temporal discrimination of empty intervals and rhythm perception. Males’ better performance on temporal discrimination of filled intervals and temporal-order judgment just failed to reach the 5%-level of statistical significance. No indication of a sex-related difference was found for temporal generalisation. Findings are consistent with the notion of a slightly more efficient automatic timing system in males compared to females. Furthermore, with tasks requiring temporal integration across a series of sensory events, a more holistic processing strategy applied by males may also contribute to their performance advantage.