Men's superior spatial abilities may be a double-edged sword: a new study suggests that this cognitive strength is more vulnerable to environmental stress than women's emotion recognition advantage.
The Research
David C. Geary (University of Missouri), David Giofrè (University of Genoa), Marcia Collaer (Middlebury College), Richard A. Lippa (California State University, Fullerton), and Lewis G. Halsey (University of Roehampton) analyzed data from over 200,000 participants across 58 nations. They tested whether sexually selected traits—which are exaggerated in one sex—are more costly to develop and thus more sensitive to stressors. They compared men's advantage in spatial cognition and women's advantage in emotion recognition against each nation's level of development (a proxy for stressor exposure).
The findings, published in Evolution and Human Behavior on May 5, 2026, showed that men's spatial advantage was larger in nations with lower stressor exposure. However, women's emotion recognition advantage did not vary across nations. The authors note that the samples were biased toward higher-income individuals in nations where men's spatial cognition was compromised, meaning the real-world effect of stress on male spatial abilities is likely underestimated.
Why It Matters
This research suggests that cognitive abilities that are more developed in one sex may be especially sensitive to early-life conditions and current stressors. For men, spatial skills—often linked to tasks like navigation, engineering, and surgery—could be impacted by factors such as poverty, malnutrition, or pollution. For women, emotion recognition might be more resilient. Understanding these sex-specific vulnerabilities can help tailor educational and policy interventions to support cognitive development for everyone.
What You Can Do
While you can't change your nation's stressor level, you can manage personal stress through exercise, sleep, and mindfulness. Engaging in spatial activities—like puzzles, 3D modeling, or even video games—may help maintain and improve spatial cognition. Consider tracking your cognitive performance over time with evidence-based brain training.
Source: arXiv q-bio.NC
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