GENDER DIFFERENCE IN ADULT INTELLIGENCE: EVIDENCE FROM THE ITALIAN WAIS-IV AND WAIS-R STANDARDIZATIONS

The results of research on gender difference in intelligence led to inconsistent results on the presence, magnitude and direction of these effects. Moreover, the results of the research it would seem to show that on the basis of the different method used to analyze data, different results emerge about gender differences in intelligence. In the present study, we sought to assess gender differences in adult intelligence using two different methods (raw scores and latent means) and two different editions of the Wechsler scales (WAIS-IV and WAIS-R). Taking advantage of the Italian standardization data WAIS-IV and WAIS-R, we have shown that the two methods used lead to the similar gender differences results, however, the gender gap is narrower using the WAIS-IV. From the results, it seems that gender differences are evolving, with the gender gap tending to shrink from generation to generation. Possible interpretations of the results are provided.