Sex differences in clerical speed: Perceptual encoding vs. verbal encoding

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Abstract
Sex differences in speeded, successive matching were studied in 4 experiments with college students. The experimental task involved the successive identification of stimulus items presented in lists by tapping matching items on response cards. Sex differences apparently were related to response-card content and not to stimulus-list content. When the identification response involved tapping words, colors or directional symbols, females were significantly faster than males; when the identification response involved tapping shapes, no significant sex differences were found. Sex differences in some aspect of short-term memory may be involved. Earlier interpretations of sex differences on speeded matching tasks in terms of such global concepts as perceptual speed were inadequate. An alternative explanation was discussed emphasizing verbal encoding, memory and evaluation processes.