Research has found that gender differences in spatial abilities do exist, and can be observed as early as infancy, and that unverified perceptions of gender differences abound as well.

• Gender differences in spatial abilities appear as early as five months, according to a 2010 study by David Moore and Scott Johnson. The study demonstrated that male infants, not female infants, discriminated between 3-D unrotated and rotated objects.
• A 2011 study found that self-perceptions of spatial intelligence varied by gender as well. Males reported higher self-estimates of spatial intelligence than their female counterparts.
• These perceptions affect parents as well. Parents’ estimates of their first-born child’s intelligence rated boys as having higher levels of mathematical and spatial intelligence than girls.
• One study also found links between spatial abilities and critical thinking skills.