Premium
Sporting Achievement: What Is the Contribution of Digit Ratio?
Author(s) -
KeithBarnett Nicholas,
Campbell Anne
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00452.x
Subject(s) - digit ratio , psychology , mental rotation , personality , developmental psychology , numerical digit , big five personality traits , cognition , regression analysis , clinical psychology , testosterone (patch) , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , statistics , mathematics , arithmetic
Second‐to‐fourth digit ratio, a marker for prenatal testosterone levels, has been shown to be associated with sporting achievement in men. It is unclear, however, whether digit ratio makes a contribution over and above salient personality variables. The present study, which included female participants, measured four personality traits and one cognitive ability (mental rotation) that have been linked to both sports achievement and sex. The significant relationship between digit ratio and sporting achievement was nearly identical in women and men. A multiple regression showed that when significant correlates of sporting ability (weight, height, years playing, hours per week training, social potency, and mental rotation) were entered first, the contribution of digit ratio remained highly significant. We suggest that physiological as well as psychological factors may be an important avenue for future study.