Alternative theory to Robinson’s arousability theory – Alternative explanation of sex‐related differences

Abstract

Robinson (1998) found that women have a larger cerebral arousal than men, and men have a larger Gsar factor of intelligence than women. It is suggested that this finding had been predicted by a previously published theory of this author. This is a continuation of a discussion, most of it in cybernetical journals, between Robinson and the present author about the biological origin of intelligence. Robinson relates intelligence to arousability, which he defined as the maximal level of activity which the cortex can obtain without activation by the brain‐stem. The author’s theory also takes into account the probability of transmission errors in the synapses and individual differences due to hemisphericity. The development of the ideas of this theory is surveyed; in each stage this theory encompassed more biological theories of intelligence. An appendix provides empirical evidence of sex‐related and hemispheric differences.