In a few weeks I’ll be at Junior Scientist - a free event where children (4-11yo) and families come to Collingwood College in Durham (UK) to engage in fun and educational activities, as well as participate in research studies. All info and booking at psytech.awh.durham.ac.uk/juniorscient...

Great time at Crook Hall Garden with Durham Uni's #SocialPsyc group yesterday. With... @pburgum.bsky.social @nostawnevets.bsky.social @drmbothapsych.bsky.social @fuschia-sirois.bsky.social @lindarrighi.bsky.social @wuliang13.bsky.social @francavanagh.bsky.social

Attending #MCLS2026 @mcls-official.bsky.social in Padova this week and I presented my poster on links between sex/gender and spatial and mathematical (meta)cognition in 8- to 11-yos! Really loved chatting about my research with fellow math researchers 🔢📐📝🧠 Although the heat is intense 🥵

My MSc student is collecting data for her diss, and I would be grateful if you could take part and/or share the attached advert with anyone who may be interested 😇 As part of the study, you can opt in to see your score and enter a prize draw. Out of those who opt in, 1 IN 5 WILL WIN A £10 VOUCHER!

🚨 New publication alert‼️🔔 Last paper from my PhD with Markus Hausmann out now open access in #Psychologicalresearch! We showed that higher endorsement of traditional gender stereotypes and lower beliefs in own spatial ability predicted women's lower spatial performance. doi.org/10.1007/s004...

Gender stereotypes and the construction of self-beliefs in spatial cognition - Psychological Research

Specific spatial abilities such as the Mental Rotations Test have consistently shown pronounced sex/gender differences. Previous research has investigated biological (e.g., hormones), psychological (e.g., self-beliefs about abilities), and social factors (e.g., sex/gender stereotypes) to explain these sex/gender differences. However, the combined effects of two or more of these factors have rarely been investigated. Here, we explored the complex interaction between sex/gender stereotypes and self-beliefs in spatial abilities, as well as their effects on sex/gender differences in mental rotation performance. Participants (n = 130; 50 males, 80 females) rated their self-beliefs in spatial abilities and subsequently completed two sex-/gender-sensitive paper-pencil mental rotation tasks that varied in task demands (adapted from Jäger & Althoff, 1994 and Peters 1995), following either sex/gender or neutral priming through a priming questionnaire. The results indicate that, while sex/gender differences in self-beliefs and mental rotation performance were significant, sex/gender priming did not directly influence males’ or females’ self-beliefs or mental rotation performance. Nevertheless, self-beliefs and the endorsement of sex/gender stereotypes consistently predicted females’ mental rotation performance. These findings suggest that sex/gender differences in (spatial) cognitive performance—specifically, men outperforming women—primarily emerge when women believe less in their abilities and hold stronger sex/gender stereotypes. Future research should routinely assess individuals’ beliefs in their cognitive abilities and endorsement of sex/gender stereotypes when investigating cognitive group differences (e.g., cognitive sex/gender differences), to avoid overlooking their potential role in shaping cognitive performance.

doi.org

A recent longitudinal study on 1st graders showed bidirectional relationships between spatial and maths skills. Maths anxiety was related to both maths skills and spatial anxiety, but spatial anxiety was not linked to spatial or maths skills at this age. Read at doi.org/10.3390/jint...

Two easy and fun games assessing mental rotation and object location memory are evaluated by this paper that was published this week: doi.org/10.3390/bs16... These alternatives can complement existing standardised tasks in a way that is accessible across ages/populations/ability levels.

A recent study reported that spatial skills in kindergarten longitudinally predict arithmetic skills in 1st grade, highlighting "the importance of spatial skills in early arithmetic development" and the potential for early interventions focused on spatial skills. Read at: doi.org/10.1037/edu0...

According to this recent paper, overconfidence may be a trait with some stability across tasks: ‘some people may, in fact, be more confident that others - regardless of their actual competency - across a range of tasks.’ Read here: doi.org/10.1177/0956...

Having a wonderful time at #EPSNewcastle, and this morning I got to present my recently published study on the effects of feedback on confidence and performance in a sex/gender sensitive task! Thanks for having me @exppsychsoc.bsky.social ☺️ Link to paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Did you know? A hormone-responsive gene in the brain can reshape brain structure and behavior differently in males and females. These findings help explain why brain disorders can affect men and women differently-and why treatments may need to be sex-specific. #Neuroscience #SABV

Egr1 is a sex-dependent regulator of neuronal chromatin, structural plasticity, and behaviour - Nature Communications

Molecular drivers of sex-specific brain plasticity are unknown. Here, authors show estrogen-driven Egr1 controls chromatin accessibility sex-dependently, driving gene expression, structural plasticity...

nature.com

🧠 Calling all parents with children between 8 and 11 years old 🧠 Help us understand how children feel about maths and spatial games! Slots available after school and during the Easter holidays; sign up at durhamuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... Share widely with anyone who may be interested!

Can a single piece of feedback—true or false—change how well you perform? Confidence plays a surprising role in spatial performance—and the results of a new study suggest that even false feedback can change both. doi.org/10.1007/s105...

Cognitive Sex/Gender Differences and the Beliefs in Own Spatial Abilities - Archives of Sexual Behavior

Sex/gender differences in specific spatial tasks are well documented, with the male advantage in the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) being one of the largest effects reported in psychological research. Nu...

doi.org

🚨 New publication alert‼️🔔 New open access paper from my PhD with @annamatejko.bsky.social and Markus Hausmann now out in #ArchivesofSexualBehavior! We investigated feedback effects on self-perceptions of spatial ability and mental rotation performance across sexes/genders. doi.org/10.1007/s105...

Cognitive Sex/Gender Differences and the Beliefs in Own Spatial Abilities - Archives of Sexual Behavior

Sex/gender differences in specific spatial tasks are well documented, with the male advantage in the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) being one of the largest effects reported in psychological research. Nu...

doi.org

🚨 Newly released issue‼️🔔 Check out the full issue with a host of commentaries (including mine :) ) answering the questions "How many sexes? How many genders?" at this link: link.springer.com/journal/1050... Without spoiling anything, the opinions definitely diverge!

Archives of Sexual Behavior

The official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research (IASR), Archives of Sexual Behavior publishes scientific research on sex, gender, and ...

link.springer.com

A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies revealed that math anxiety is “just as likely to be a consequence of [low math performance] as it is a cause.” They report that this cycle of mutual influence could be prevented by early math anxiety interventions. Read more at psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/...

Good morning! My dissertation students and I would appreciate your help with our study investigating how neurotypical and neurodivergent people approach multi-tasking. As compensation, you can enter to win 1 of 4 £20 vouchers. Links are below! Email any questions to linda.arrighi@durham.ac.uk :)

New paper from my postdoc with @brianlevine.bsky.social now out in #PersonalityandIndividualDifferences! We examined how different types of visual imagery relate to #STEM occupations across genders using a dimensional approach to code occupational attributes. 🔗 t.co/jX6214ZY2X

Are humans really the only rational animals? Our NEW PAPER 🎉 out in @science.org suggests otherwise! In a large collaboration led with my joint first author @hanna-schleihauf.bsky.social, we show that “Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs” 🧵

Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs

The selective revision of beliefs in light of new evidence has been considered one of the hallmarks of human-level rationality. However, tests of this ability in other species are lacking. We examined...

science.org

🚨 New publication alert‼️🔔 Check out my new commentary "The Spectrum of Sex and Gender" answering "How many sexes are there? How many genders are there?" at doi.org/10.1007/s105... This open access commentary delves into some critical current issues, for more info see below or read via the link :)

The Spectrum of Sex and Gender - Archives of Sexual Behavior

Archives of Sexual Behavior -

doi.org

New paper from the Jansen lab at @uniregensburg.bsky.social surprisingly found a positive relationship between stereotype-consistent associations and mental rotation accuracy in preschool girls, highlighting the complexities within this field of research. Read more at doi.org/10.3389/fpsy...

Frontiers | No relationship between gender stereotypes and mental rotation in preschool girls

Gender stereotypes about spatial ability have been proposed as a contributing factor to the gender gap in STEM. This goal of this study was to investigate wh...

doi.org

Had a wonderful time at the @bpsdevsection.bsky.social annual conference at Royal Holloway UoL presenting my research, hearing about cutting edge & inspiring developmental psych research (with lots of talks on math anxiety which I loved), and meeting lovely people!! Thanks for having me 🥰✨🔢🧠💭

Flux @fluxsociety.bsky.social has now ended! Had a great time in Dublin presenting my poster and learning about new & exciting developmental neuroscience research 🧠✨🔢🥰

Day 2 of Flux @fluxsociety.bsky.social completed! I presented my poster on links between sex/gender, spatial/math anxiety and performance in 8-11yo today and got to speak with amazing researchers in the field 🤩✨🧠🔢

Day 1 of Flux @fluxsociety.bsky.social completed! Attended some inspiring talks on bridging educational research with policy and the poster session was super interesting with some evidence supporting the mosaic theory for sex/gender differences 🧠🔢✨

🎓 FLUX is proud to spotlight Dr. Linda Arrighi. Her research aims to understand the underlying factors and developmental trajectories of observed cognitive sex/gender differences, primarily in spatial cognition. Read about her journey now: 👉 buff.ly/jKNbuCf #FLUXSociety #TraineeSpotlight

A new study from our School of Government and International Affairs finds female politicians in the USA are judged more harshly than men. Is US politics trapped in a gender bias? Find out more 👉 www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/...

The Joint EPS X CSBBCS Meeting is now done! Presenting my work was a rewarding experience and I recommend these societies' meetings to all ECRs. I also got some inspiration for future studies from the amazing cogn psych research presented. Thanks to @exppsychsoc.bsky.social for having me! ✨

Day 2 of the joint EPS X CSBBCS meeting completed! Today, I attended some super interesting talks on metacognition, mental imagery, visuospatial skills in progressive supranuclear palsy, as well as an anxiety-inducing but nevertheless great undergraduate prize talk (see below)! ✨

The Experimental Psychology Society@exppsychsoc.bsky.social · last yr.

The 2025 EPS / BSA Undergraduate Prize Talk by Akilles Rechardt kicks off the EPS Prize talks in Dundee!

Day 1 of joint EPS and CSBBCS meeting done! Attended a very interesting panel on math development, two prize talks and a poster session with, among others, a fascinating poster on the relationship between math anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and math performance 🤩 @exppsychsoc.bsky.social

The Experimental Psychology Society@exppsychsoc.bsky.social · last yr.

The first day of the joint EPS and CSBBCS meeting in Dundee ends, fittingly, with a joint poster session!