Sex differences in the lateralization of language discrimination vs language production.

Two tachistoscopic studies employing normal males and females were done to investigate the inconsistency of obtained sex differences on visual laterality tasks to the extent that this inconsistency is task specific. Type of linguistic task (discrimination vs production) and control of attention were manipulated. Results showed that on language discrimination, the sexes were fairly equally lateralized, while on production tasks, females showed greater laterality differences. The attempt to control for attention resulted in higher field differences, but especially so for females. It is suggested that more consideration of task demands in laterality experiments should help clarify the nature of sex differences in laterality.