05/30/07
Ask some kids to take a test, and they'll give you the finger. Yes, this truly is "the digital age":
Measurements of children’s finger lengths appear to predict their scores on math and literacy tests, researchers have found.
The study might raise anew the controversial issue of whether boys and girls have different innate abilities, scientists said. This is because finger length is proposed to be related to differences in hormones responsible for developmental differences in boys and girls.
In a study to appear in the British Journal of Psychology, researchers compared the finger lengths of 75 seven-year-old children with standardized test scores. They found what they called a clear link between math and literacy performance and the relative lengths of their index and ring fingers.
The researchers said the link is thought to stem from different levels of the hormones testosterone and oestrogen in the womb. Testosterone is believed to promote development of brain areas “often associated with spatial and mathematical skills,” while oestrogen may do the same for verbal ability, said study leader Mark Brosnan, head of the University of Bath, U.K. psychology department.
“Interestingly, these hormones are also thought have a say in the relative lengths of our index and ring fingers. We can use measurements of these fingers as a way of gauging the relative exposure to these two hormones in the womb.” Testosterone and oestrogen are also responsible for the development of male and female sexual characteristics, respectively.
The researchers measured children’s fingers and divided the length of the index finger by that of the ring finger. The investigators found that a smaller ratio—that is, a longer ring finger with respect to index finger—was linked to better scores in math compared to literacy. This finger configuration also signals greater prenatal testosterone exposure, they said.
There's more.
Comments:
No Comments for this post yet...
Leave a comment:
Pingbacks:
No Pingbacks for this post yet...
RSS Feed