Abstract

LUNA, David; ALVARADO, Angélica  and  VILA, Javier. Sexual dimorphism in the acquisition of a second spatial learning. J. behav. health soc. ISSUES [online]. 2012, vol.4, n.1, pp.27-38. ISSN 2007-0780.  https://doi.org/10.5460/jbhsi.v4.1.32969.

Using a procedure of interference it was investigated if sexual dimorphism reported in spatial tasks is sustained on the acquisition of a second learning. College students were trained to locate a hidden key ring in one of the 120 drawers which were grouped into four quadrants, presented in a two-dimensional virtual plane. Training included two phases, and in each one the goal location was different. In two experiments, latency for reaching the goal diminished during training and in one of them, a comparison between sexes revealed remarkable differences, being latency shorter in men than in women during the intermediate trials of phase one and on the first trial of phase two. The number of explorations in the search area also diminished systematically, without showing any differences between sexes. During the tests, participants responded to the latest place where the goal had been held in. These results demonstrate the presence of a sexual dimorphism in latency for locating a goal during the first and the second acquisition of spatial learning, but not on the number of explorations in the search area. This outcome was interpreted in terms of differences in the search strategies between men and women. Further, results are consistent with an interference effect in spatial learning.

Keywords : Search strategies; sexual dimorphism; humans; virtual environment; multiple training.