Time pressure amplifies gender differences in mental rotation through shifts in evidence accumulation and response caution.

Meta-analytic data provide evidence for a gender difference favoring men on mental rotation tasks, especially under time pressure. Why might time pressure exaggerate this gender difference? Here we used drift diffusion modeling (DDM) to examine potential mechanisms underlying gender differences in mental rotation. Adult participants (N = 160; 80 men, 80 women) performed a mental rotation task with two levels of difficulty under conditions that emphasized either accuracy or speed. DDM parameters-including drift rates, decision thresholds, and non-decision times-were analyzed. We found robust gender differences in decision thresholds when speed was emphasized, with women showing smaller thresholds (less evidence accumulation) than men. Drift rates, an index of processing efficiency, showed weaker and less consistent gender differences; women's drift rates decreased under time pressure but men's remained unchanged. No reliable gender differences emerged in non-decision times. Implications of time pressure on gender differences in mental rotation performance are discussed in relation to affect and strategy use.