Age and Sex Differences in Math-Verbal Tilt in Adolescence: Males Show More Tilt Than Females and Speed and g Mediate Age-Tilt Relations

Tilt refers to an ability pattern based on within person differences in two distinct abilities (e.g., verbal and math), yielding relative strength in one ability (e.g., math) and relative weakness in another (e.g., verbal). The current study is the first to examine age and sex differences in math-verbal tilt from 13- to 17-years. Test scores were obtained from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery in the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth ( N = 6969), a nationally representative sample of adolescents in the United States. Tilt was based on differences in math and verbal scores, yielding math tilt (indicating math strength) and verbal tilt (indicating verbal strength). Other variables included processing speed and general intelligence ( g ), which were expected to facilitate the acquisition of specific abilities that produce tilt. Contrary to research on sex differences in vocational preferences, levels of math and verbal tilt were higher in males than females. In addition, both sexes showed large tilt effects from zero ( d > 1.00), where zero indicates no tilt (i.e., no difference in math and verbal scores), indicating large levels of math or verbal tilt within individuals. The large tilt effects from zero support investment theories, which assume that individuals seek out and select activities in specific domains that boost analogous types of tilts. Finally, age-related increases in tilt were observed for males and females and were mediated by speed and g . Such a pattern supports cascade theories, which assume that speed and g facilitate the acquisition of specific abilities, which boost analogous forms of tilt. Future research should consider age and sex differences in tilt in different developmental periods (e.g., late adulthood) and at different ability levels (e.g., gifted and intellectually disabled).