Parents think their sons are brighter than their daughters: sex differences in parental self-estimations and estimations of their children's multiple intelligences.

Full Abstract

In this study, 156 participants, predominantly White British adults (M age = 44.3 years) rated themselves on overall IQ and on H. Gardner's (1983) 7 intelligence subtypes. Parents (n = 120) also estimated the intelligence of their children. Men's self-estimates were significantly higher than women's (110.15 vs. 104.84). Participants thought their verbal, mathematical, and spatial intelligence scores were the best indicators of their own overall intelligence. Parents estimated that their sons had significantly higher IQs than their daughters (115.21 vs. 107.49). Self-estimates and estimates of children's multiple intelligences were higher for men and sons, significantly so for logical-mathematical and spatial intelligence. Parents rated 2nd-born daughters as having significantly higher verbal and musical intelligence than their male counterparts. Higher parental IQ self-estimates corresponded with higher IQ estimates for children. Results for 1st-born children were clearest and showed the most significant differences. The findings are interpreted in terms of sociocultural and familial influences and the possibility of actual sex differences in particular abilities.

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Author information

Author/s: Furnham, Adrian (A); Reeves, Emma (E); Budhani, Salima (S);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University College London. a.furnham(-atsign-)ucl.ac.ul

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: The Journal of genetic psychology (J Genet Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Mar; vol 163 (issue 1) : pp 24-39

Dates: Created 2002/04/15; Completed 2002/10/09; Revised 2007/03/30;

PMID: 11952262, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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