Age and Sex Differences in the Processing of Verbal and Nonverbal Stimuli

Male and female elderly (63-77) and young (23-33) subjects matched two successive visual stimuli on the basis of membership in binary sets. In one condition, the messages were verbal. In the other, the same messages were represented nonverbally. The older group of both sexes was significantly slower than the younger, but age differences did not affect verbal and nonverbal processing in the same way for men and women. Within each age group, men were about equally proficient at verbal and nonverbal matching. However, young women were less proficient nonverbally than verbally, and elderly women exhibited this discrepancy in amplified form. Practice, stereotyped behavior, and/or genetic predisposition were discussed as possible explanations for the sex-related discrepancy in matching efficiency for verbal versus nonverbal stimuli.