Mental rotation does not account for sex differences in left–right confusion

Several studies have demonstrated that women believe they are more prone to left–right confusion (LRC) than men. However, while some studies report that there is also a sex difference in LRC tasks favouring men, others report that men and women perform equally well. Recently, it was suggested that sex differences only emerge in LRC tasks when they involve mental rotation. That is, sex differences that are reported for some LRC tasks are strongly affected by the well-documented male advantage in mental rotation. To test this assumption, 91 participants were investigated on two LRC tasks: The Left–Right Commands Task and the Bergen Left–Right Discrimination Test. Additionally, participants were asked to complete an LRC self-rating questionnaire. To rule out the possibility that sex differences in LRC are confounded by sex differences in mental rotation, male and female participants were matched for mental rotation performance, resulting in a sample of 46 matched participants. These matched participants showed robust sex differences in favour of men in all LRC measurements. This suggests that pronounced sex differences in LRC are a genuine phenomenon that exists independently of sex differences in mental rotation.

► We investigate sex differences in left–right confusion (LRC) and mental rotation. ► Men were less prone to LRC than women in two left–right tasks. ► Sex differences in LRC did not depend on sex differences in mental rotation. ► Sex differences in LRC exist in egocentric and extra-egocentric tasks. ► Individual differences in LRC may arise from differences in verbal labelling ability.