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Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 107

Chapter 7
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities
Lost in Space
—Vogue, June, 2001

Lecture Outline

A. The headline article reported on the stereotype that women are not as good as men
in finding their way. Consistent with the research, the article told about different
strategies but similar performance in wayfinding ability for men and women.
B. COGNITIVE ABILITIES have been a concern of psychology since its early years. With
the development of intelligence tests, such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test,
psychologists began to measure the IQs of large numbers of people and found no
gender differences. This lack of gender difference was surprising, given the societal
assumption of women’s intellectual inferiority.
The development of the Wechsler scales focused interest on various mental
abilities and the findings that women tend to score higher on verbal tasks, whereas
men tend to score higher on performance tasks.
1. Verbal Performance consists of a variety of tasks that require a verbal response.
Various reviews suggest that the advantage for girls and women is small and may be
too small to be of any practical value. However, their advantage in writing
performance is large.
2. Mathematical and Quantitative Performance show no gender differences
during elementary school. Beginning during junior high school, the definition of
mathematical ability changes, and boys begin to outperform girls on some
standardized mathematics tests. Tests such as the SAT underpredict women's and
overpredict men's math performance in college, suggesting that these tests are
biased.
Attitudes toward math differ more than performance does. Girls feel that math is
less important to their future, feel less confident about their math ability than boys,
and receive less encouragement from parents and teachers. Boys and girls tend to
perceive that math is a male domain.
3. Spatial Performance has been defined in an even greater variety of ways than
have verbal and mathematical performance, leading to a great diversity of findings.
Spatial perception includes the ability to identify and locate the horizontal or vertical
in the presence of distracting information, and boys and men show a small
advantage on this type of task. Mental rotation includes the ability to visualize objects
as they would appear if rotated in space, and boys and men have a large advantage
in such tasks. Spatial visualization refers to the ability to process spatial information
so as to understand the relationship between objects in space, such as the ability to
see a figure embedded in other figures, and this spatial task does not always show
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 108

gender differences. Spatiotemporal ability involves judgments about moving objects

in space, and the limited research suggests that men do better than women at these
tasks. Research indicates that experience is a factor in all of these types of spatial
performance, and boys may get more experience with these tasks than girls,
explaining their advantage in several of these tasks.
4. Other Mental Abilities include memory, creativity, musical ability, and
nonverbal communication. As the headline story suggested, women and men use
different strategies to find their way. Men are more successful in navigating in
laboratory situations, but both are equally successful when navigating around in the
world. Gender-related differences that appear in performance on memory, creativity,
musical ability, and nonverbal communication tend to be attributable to gender role
expectation rather than mental abilities. For example, gender differences in
communication style, especially in the ability to interpret nonverbal cues, may be
more related to status and power than to gender.
C. SOURCE OF THE DIFFERENCE could be structural or functional differences in the brain,
socialization, or conformity to gender expectation.
1. Biological Evidence for Gender Differences in Cognitive Abilities might come
from the influence of prenatal hormones, selection differences during evolutionary
history, or functional differences in the brain during the performance of various
types of tasks. The appeal of a biological basis for gender differences in mental
abilities is strong, but the research evidence is weak. The influence of prenatal
hormones creates small differences in performance, and empirical confirmation for
an evolutionary view of behavior is not possible. The research on functional imaging
of living brains has shown some gender differences in patterns of activation, but the
results show more individual variation than gender variation. Men’s and women’s
brains are more similar than different.
2. Evidence for Other Sources of Gender Differences come from the cultural and
social role differences that men and women experience. Factors such as familiarity
and instructions can influence performance on spatial tasks. Also, the concept of
stereotype threat applies to these testing situations. When people believe that their
performance may reflect on them as part of a stigmatized group, their performance
tends to suffer, and many situations assessing verbal, quantitative, and spatial
performance fall into this category.
D. IMPLICATIONS OF GENDER-RELATED DIFFERENCES seem larger than suggested by the
differences in abilities. The gender differences in several cognitive abilities should
produce some differences in occupations but not the magnitude of difference that
exists. Janet Hyde has argued that the publicity given to gender differences in mental
abilities has led to the acceptance of these differences as large when they are not.
E. CONSIDERING DIVERSITY leads to a complex picture of gender differences in mental
abilities in which culture as well as gender affect performance on spatial tasks. The
male advantage appears in many cultures, but the women in some cultures score
higher on spatial tasks than the men in other cultures. Indeed, Richard Nisbett
proposed that people in Eastern and Western cultures think differently, which
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 109

leading to cultural differences in thought and memory that are much larger than
gender-related differences.

Multiple Choice Questions

d 1. Intelligence is
a. a complex concept that is not easy to define.
b. the subject of intense debate.
c. an area of study since the early years of modern psychology.
d. all of the above

c 2. The most influential tests of intelligence have defined intelligence in terms of

a. adaptability.
b. sensory acuity.
c. school-related abilities.
d. motor skills

a 3. Using the Stanford-Binet intelligence test, Terman found

a. no difference in intelligence between men’s and women’s test scores.
b. that the difference between men’s and women’s test scores was small but
consistent, with men scoring higher than women.
c. that the difference between men’s and women’s test scores was large, with
women outscoring men.
d. that the difference between men’s and women’s test scores was large, with
men outscoring women.

c 4. Women’s and men’s scores on early intelligence tests

a. confirmed the prevailing view of the time that women have lower intelligence
than men.
b. confirmed the prevailing view of the time that men have lower intelligence
than women.
c. contradicted the prevailing view of the time that women have lower
intelligence than men.
d. contradicted the prevailing view of the time that there is no difference
between the intelligence of men and women.

a 5. Terman’s finding during the early 1900s that women and men score similarly on
IQ tests
a. has not yet been fully accepted; people still estimate men’s IQs as higher than
women’s IQs.
b. provoked a storm of protest from educators, who began reforms to change
education.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 110

c. prompted educators to begin encouraging women to seek higher education.

d. both b and c

b 6. The intelligence tests developed by Wechsler divided mental abilities into

a. verbal and quantitative tests.
b. verbal and performance tests.
c. quantitative and spatial tests.
d. performance and spatial tests.

b 7. The tests scores on the subtests of Wechsler's intelligence tests show ________;
scores from the combined test show ________.
a. no gender-related differences . . . . no gender-related differences
b. gender-related differences . . . . no gender-related differences.
c. no gender-related differences . . . . gender-related differences
d. gender-related differences . . . . gender-related differences.

e 8. Researchers have used which of the following types of tasks to measure verbal
ability?
a. reading comprehension
b. spelling
c. anagram
d. vocabulary
e. all of the above

b 9. Reviews of research on gender differences in verbal ability have usually

concluded that
a. girls and women have a large advantage in most verbal tasks.
b. girls and women have a small advantage in many verbal tasks and a large
advantage in writing.
c. girls have a large advantage in many types of verbal tasks, but this advantage
disappears during adolescence.
d. neither gender has an advantage in any verbal task.

d 10. The largest advantage for girls and women in verbal performance is in
a. verbal fluency.
b. spelling and punctuation.
c. vocabulary size.
d. writing.

c 11. Meta-analytic reviews of the research on verbal abilities has shown that
a. women have no advantage in this area.
b. men have an average advantage of 5% in verbal ability.
c. women’s advantage in verbal ability is only around 1%.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 111

d. women’s advantage in verbal ability is larger than the older reviews showed,
with about a 25% advantage.

d 12. The stereotype that women talk more than men

a. is one of the few gender stereotypes validated by modern research.
b. was confirmed by early psychology researchers in the late 1800s.
c. was once a widely accepted stereotype but is no longer widely accepted.
d. may still be accepted by many people, but research has not confirmed this
difference.

d 13. Research on quantitative performance with children as participants shows

a. an advantage for boys as young as 4 years old.
b. a small advantage for young boys but a larger advantage for adolescent boys.
c. a small advantage for young girls but a larger advantage for adolescent girls.
d. either no gender differences or a small advantage for girls.

a 14. Meta-analytic studies of mathematical ability reveal that

a. women have advantages in some quantitative tasks, and men have
advantages in others.
b. men’s advantage is small for arithmetic computation but large for
mathematical problem solving.
c. men’s advantage is larger than previously believed.
d. gender differences in mathematical ability had reversed—women now do
better than men in problem-solving tasks.

a 15. In the general population, mathematical ability is

a. equal for men and women.
b. not equal for men and women, and men have an advantage.
c. not equal for men and women, and women have an advantage.
d. of no practical use, so men’s and women’s ability is nothing more than a point
for argument and debate.

b 16. In selected groups of mathematically talented adolescents,

a. girls outnumber boys.
b. boys outnumber girls.
c. the gender ratio is approximately equal.
d. girls are never chosen, because their scores are always too low.

a 17. As samples become more selected for high mathematics ability,

a. fewer girls appear in the sample.
b. fewer mathematics classes are required for high scores.
c. grades become poorer predictors of mathematics achievement.
d. more groups of ethnic backgrounds appear in the sample.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 112

a 18. The conclusion that mathematics talent is biological, based on studies of

mathematically gifted students,
a. is unwarranted because researchers collected no biological data.
b. is unwarranted because researchers found such small gender-related
differences that their conclusions were invalid.
c. indicates their high heritability quotients from parents and first-degree
relatives.
d. provides the best available evidence that quantitative abilities are biological
because the home environment of the children showed no differences in
encouragement for girls and boys.

b 19. The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) shows higher average scores for the young
men than for the young women who take the Mathematics subtest. This gender-
related difference may reflect the influence of
a. women taking more math courses than men.
b. a test format that favors men.
c. brain development in the right hemisphere, which leads to better male
performance in math.
d. all of the above
e. none of the above

d 20. Comparisons of underlying mathematics ability (rather than mathematics

performance) for females and males
a. can be done at many periods of development through the use of achievement
test scores.
b. can be done before formal training in higher mathematics through the
Scholastic Assessment Test.
c. is easier than an assessment of verbal ability.
d. is virtually impossible, due to gender differences in experience and
expectation with mathematics.

c 21. Which of the following statements describes the status of mathematical

performance for women and men?
a. Men have higher mathematical ability and make better grades in math courses
from elementary school through college.
b. Boys make higher scores on standardized tests of mathematics performance,
but this advantage fades during junior high school, and performance becomes
equal for girls and boys.
c. Men make higher scores on some standardized tests of mathematics
performance, but women make better grades in math classes from elementary
school through college.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 113

d. Boys have higher scores on standardized tests of mathematics performance

during elementary school and make better grades, but from junior high
onward, girls and women make better grades.

d 22. The largest gender-related difference is mathematics occurs in

a. arithmetic computation ability.
b. mathematical reasoning ability
c. problem solving ability.
d. the attitudes toward the usefulness of mathematics.

b 23. One factor in tests of mathematics performance is the number of math courses
completed. Men
a. have always outnumbered women in mathematics classes during high school
and continue to do so.
b. outnumbered women in mathematics classes during high school until the
1990s, but now enrollment is similar.
c. are less numerous in math classes during both high school and college.
d. not only outnumber women in math class but also make better grades.

c 24. Girls with high ability in math

a. find math more difficult than boys with high math ability.
b. make poorer grades in advanced math classes than boys with high math
ability.
c. tend to have high verbal ability, which allows them career options other than
math.
d. both a and b
e. all of the above

d 25. The perception of mathematics as a male domain

a. is shared by girls, boys, parents, and other adults.
b. discourages girls from pursuing careers in math.
c. has diminished and will likely disappear by 2010.
d. both a and b.
e. all of the above

a 26. A study of attitudes toward mathematics of children around the world showed
that
a. children tend to evaluate mathematics as difficult and not very interesting.
b. children in Europe evaluated mathematics as interesting, but students in the
U. S. did not.
c. children in Asia evaluated mathematics as not difficult but not interesting.
d. younger children gave more negative evaluations than older children and
adolescents.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 114

a 27. Which statement is true concerning the intelligence and mental abilities of women
and men?
a. Women’s and men’s scores on IQ tests are equal.
b. On the average, men are better than women at math.
c. On the average, men are better than women at verbal tasks.
d. Both b and c are true.

e 28. The definition of spatial ability has included the ability to

a. visualize objects.
b. mentally manipulate objects.
c. locate figures embedded in a larger figure.
d. perceive spatial patterns.
d. all of the above

b 29. The ability to detect the horizontal or vertical in the presence of distracting
information is
a. spatial orientation.
b. spatial perception.
c. perceptual distortion.
d. figure-ground contrast.

b 30. The spatial ability tested in the rod-and-frame task and Piaget’s water level test
a. shows no gender differences.
b. shows small gender differences during childhood and larger ones during
adulthood, with boys and men having the advantage.
c. shows large gender differences during both childhood and adulthood, with
boys and men having the advantage.
d. shows small differences during both childhood and adulthood, with girls and
women having the advantage.

b 31. Performance on some spatial tasks, such as the rod-and-frame task, is influenced
by the situation in which the testing occurs and by the expectations of the
participants. Such findings suggest that
a. verbal mediation strategies give women an advantage in such tasks.
b. performance is variable, and expectation can be an influential factor.
c. biological determinism is the best explanation for such findings.
d. motor performance is related to spatial performance, giving boys and men the
advantage in all spatial tasks.

a 32. What type of experience has been shown to increase performance on spatial tasks?
a. video games
b. team sports
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 115

c. board games
d. games that involve taking turns

c 33. Results of a meta-analytic study on experience as a factor in performance on

spatial tasks showed that
a. men perform consistently better than women regardless of experience.
b. men’s greater ability allows them to perform consistently better than women
who have more experience.
c. experience is a factor in the performance of both men and women.
d. experience is a factor in women’s but not men’s performance.

d 34. On what type of spatial tasks do women usually outperform men?

a. rapid identification of matching objects
b. estimating arrival time of objects moving in space
c. remembering the placement of objects
d. both a and c
e. all of the above

c 35. Men and boys have larger advantages over women and girls in tests of ______ but
small or no advantage on ________ tests.
a. spatial perception . . . . mental rotation
b. spatial visualization . . . . mental rotation
c. mental rotation . . . . spatial memory
d. verbal analogies . . . . mental rotation

a 36. Overall, gender-related differences in spatial abilities

a. are complex, with advantages for men in some, women in others, and no
reliable differences in others.
b. are complex, with varying degrees of advantage for men, but no tasks show
advantages for women.
c. are complex, with an increasing age-related disadvantages for women in most
spatial tasks.
d. are straightforward, with boys and men outperforming girls and women in all
four types of spatial tasks.

d 37. One of the main problems in concluding anything about the role of gender in
verbal, quantitative, and spatial abilities is
a. these abilities change so much over the developmental span, and boys and
girls experience many fluctuations in their performance.
b. that the role of hormones has not been studied.
c. meta-analytic studies indicate that there are no gender differences in any of
these areas.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 116

d. each of these areas has been defined using so many different types of tasks
that underlying ability is difficult to determine.

c 38. Considering performance on various types of mental abilities tests, women have
the largest advantage on _______ and men have the largest advantage on
________.
a. mathematics problem solving . . . . verbal analogies
b. vocabulary tests . . . . arithmetic computation
c. writing . . . . mental rotation tasks
d. verbal abilities tests . . . . mathematics and quantitative abilities

b 39. When trying to find the way, men tend to _______, and women tend to ________.
a. use landmarks. . . . rely on memory
b. rely on mental maps . . . . use landmarks
c. rely on memory . . . . ask for directions
d. ask for directions . . . . rely on maps

d 40. When comparing women’s and men’s strategies of learning routes and finding
their way,
a. men’s reliance on spatial orientation is ineffective.
b. women’s reliance on using landmarks to navigate is ineffective.
c. both genders are effective in finding their way, but women’s landmark
strategy offers more flexibility when forced to use an alternative route.
d. both genders are comparably effective in finding their way, and a combination
of landmarks and spatial orientation is actually the most efficient.

c 41. On tests of memory involving verbal material __________, and when the material
to be memorized is spatial __________.
a. no gender differences appear . . . . men have a small advantage
b. no gender differences appear . . . . no gender differences appear
c. women have a small advantage . . . . men have a small advantage
d. women have a small advantage . . . . no gender differences appear

b 42. Rather than being related to gender, memory differences for various types of
material seem related to
a. age.
b. gender stereotypes.
c. emotional associations to the material.
d. educational background.

c 43. When asked to memorize a shopping list for groceries and another for hardware,
a. men outperform women on both tasks.
b. women outperform men on both tasks.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 117

c. women outperform men on the shopping list, and men outperform women on
the hardware.
d. no gender differences appear.

a 44. When asked to remember a list,

a. the labeling of the task and the gender of the learner influenced learning.
b. girls’ memory was better than boys’ memory, but men’s memory was better
than women’s.
c. men’s memory performance was faster but not better than women’s
performance.
d. no gender differences appeared.

d 45. Gender-related differences in creativity

a. appear as early as first grade.
b. do not appear until junior high school but become larger during adolescence.
c. filter women out of careers that require high creative ability.
d. are not part of the results of most studies on this topic.

d 46. The gender difference in number of male versus female professional musicians is
due to
a. differences in musical ability, with women having higher ability but lower
achievement.
b. differences in musical ability, with men having higher ability but lower
achievement.
c. a combination of musical ability and greater dedication to musical
achievement among men.
d. greater dedication to achievement among men rather than differences in
musical ability.

d 47. Research on the ability to understand nonverbal communication indicates that

a. women are better at these skills—a confirmation of “women’s intuition.”
b. there are no gender-related differences in these skills—a failure to confirm the
concept of “women’s intuition.”
c. men are better a these skills—it should be called “men’s intuition.”
d. greater skill at interpreting nonverbal cues goes with the subordinate position
rather than gender—it should be called “subordinates’ intuition.”

a 48. One of the large differences in nonverbal communication is

a. women’s tendency to smile more than men.
b. women’s ability to hide their emotions, especially from men.
c. men’s ability to dominate through eye contact.
d. men’s reluctance to establish nonverbal but to maintain verbal dominance.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 118

c 49. Evolutionary psychologists take the view that the cognitive abilities of women and
men
a. differ because men dominated women during human prehistory, which
prevented women from developing good spatial abilities.
b. differ because women developed good spatial abilities by foraging, and men
developed good nonverbal communication through the need to communicate
during hunting.
c. differ because the task demands differed for women and men in human
prehistory, prompting different brain organization.
d. are similar because spatial abilities were more important than verbal abilities
during human prehistory, creating individuals with similar cognitive abilities.

a 50. The role of evolution in gender-related differences in brain lateralization is

a. impossible to confirm or refute.
b. the most likely explanation for women’s superior spatial ability.
c. the most likely explanation for men’s superior spatial ability.
d. not related to other biological factors in natural selection.

c 51. Gender-related differences in mental abilities are _________, but differences in the
choices that women and men make are _________.
a. large . . . . large
b. large . . . . small
c. small . . . . large
d. small . . . . small

a 52. According to research on various types of testosterone exposure, what type is

most likely to be related to increased spatial ability?
a. Prenatal exposure to testosterone is most likely to relate to better spatial
performance.
b. Exposure to the increase in testosterone production during puberty boosts
spatial ability in boys but not in girls.
c. Exposure to high testosterone levels during adulthood is related to increased
spatial performance in both women and men.
d. Taking anabolic steroids increases spatial performance during adolescence and
adulthood.

d 53. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study women and men as
they performed a verbal task, researchers found that
a. the activation patterns of women’s and men’s brains showed no average
difference.
b. men’s right hemispheres and women’s left hemispheres were activated during
the verbal task.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 119

c. the cerebellum was more active among men than women, which related to
men’s better performance in this task.
d. both women’s and men’s left hemispheres were activated during the verbal
task.

b 54. In several studies using imaging techniques of brains at work, men’s and women’s
brains have shown different patterns of activation.
a. These patterns provide evidence for the relationship between structure and
behavioral gender differences.
b. But the function of men’s and women’s brains are more alike than different.
c. Women’s brains show a more active pattern than men’s brains.
d. Women’s brains show more left hemisphere activation,
and men’s brains show more right hemisphere activation.

d 55. Experience plays a role in spatial task performance. Evidence confirming this role
comes from
a. a study that indicated that people who are better at spatial performance
participated in physical activity.
b. a study that indicated that allowing women to familiarize themselves with the
computer also erased the gender difference on the spatial task performed on
the computer.
c. a study that indicated that men who are good at verbal skills are also good at
spatial skills.
d. both a and b
e. all of the above

a 56. When college women hear that men do better on the type of test that they are
about to take,
a. the women perform more poorly than those women who do not hear about
men’s performance.
b. the women perform better because they want to prove that they can succeed.
c. the women perform more poorly if they are weak in the subject, but if they are
well prepared, this information has no effect.
d. the women’s performance is not affected.

c 57. When women perform more poorly on a math test after hearing that women do
worse on this type of test than men do, ___________ has shown an effect.
a. reverse discrimination
b. male superiority
c. stereotype threat
d. a negative reinforcement gradient
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 120

b 58. An alternative to biological explanations of school and career achievement comes

from gender differences in
a. hormonal and chromosomal inheritance.
b. self-perception and expectancies for success.
c. personal relationships and sexual behavior.
d. self-acceptance of personal weaknesses and tendency to blame others.

b 59. Most media reports of gender differences in cognitive performance focus on a

biological basis for these differences, and
a. most researchers accept this view.
b. most researchers believe that an interaction of biological and environmental
factors provides a better explanation.
c. most psychologists reject the possibility of biological factors influencing
behavior.
d. a majority of researchers questions not only the validity but also the wisdom
of this approach.

b 60. Small gender-related differences in cognitive abilities

a. cannot produce large performance differences—without the basic ability
differences, no performance differences are possible.
b. can produce larger differences in achievement.
c. are diminished by workplace demands, which are similar for women and
men.
d. both a and c.

c 61. Small gender-related differences in cognitive abilities, such as verbal or

quantitative ability
a. are often ignored in the classroom.
b. are noticed by parents, who encourage their talented daughters but not their
equally talented sons.
c. can be magnified through gender-stereotypical expectations of teachers and
parents.
d. are rarely noticed by children and do influence self-concept.
e. all of the above

d 62. When the ability distributions of men and women overlap 99%, such as in verbal
ability,
a. such large differences should be reflected in career choices.
b. such large differences must be based on biological differences between women
and men.
c. the ability difference is as large as physical differences, such as in height and
weight.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 121

d. individual differences are more important than gender as a factor in this

ability.

a 63. Hyde warned about the danger of confusing the terms well-established and large,
arguing that
a. well-established gender differences may be too small to be of practical
significance.
b. large gender differences may be well established yet unimportant.
c. well-established gender differences may not be statistically significant but
may be of practical significance.
d. a gender difference may be both well established and large but of neither
statistical nor practical significance.

c 64. The gender gap in engineering—the disproportionate representation of male

engineers—
a. is proportional to the gender difference in the distribution of spatial abilities,
which is essential for all types of engineers.
b. is disproportional to the gender difference in the distribution of spatial ability.
There are more female engineers than would be expected based on ability
alone.
c. is disproportional to the gender difference in the distribution of spatial ability.
There are more male engineers than would be expected based on ability alone.
d. is larger than it was 20 years ago.

a 65. Researchers who concentrate on gender-related differences in cognitive abilities

a. tend to focus on the differences and obscure the similarities between women
and men.
b. tend to provide information that allows parents and educators to develop
children’s strengths and remediate their weaknesses.
c. emphasize the magnitude of differences and convey an accurate impression
that gender-related cognitive differences are large.
d. allow ample opportunity for individual differences, emphasizing how
individual differences and not gender differences are more important.

c 66. Parents explain the mathematics achievements of their sons in terms of ________
and use _________ as an explanation of their daughters’ success.
a. hard work . . . . hard work
b. hard work . . . . natural talent
c. natural talent . . . . hard work
d. natural talent . . . . natural talent

a 67. When examining the cross-cultural research on mathematical and spatial

performance for women and men, differences appear among countries.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 122

a. Women in some cultures score higher in these tasks than men in other
cultures.
b. But men always show an advantage in a wide range of spatial tasks.
c. Cultural variation is much smaller than the differences between men and
women.
d. But women in Asia score as high in spatial performance as men in those
cultures.

a 68. Examining research evidence on spatial performance from one Stone Age culture,
one culture from the Middle East, and another from northern Europe, results
showed that
a. the performance of men and women varied from the results of studies done
on participants from the United States.
b. boys and men outperformed girls and women in all cultures, but the gender
difference was not as large as the gender difference found in the United States.
c. girls and women only show a performance deficit in the United States.
d. the pattern of gender differences that appear in the United States is common
to other industrialized (but not to unindustrialized) cultures.

e 69. According to studies by Richard Nisbett and his colleagues on the influence of
culture on cognitive processes,
a. people in Western cultures tend to think more holistically.
b. people in Asian cultures tend to think more analytically.
c. women in Asian cultures tend to think more analytically than women in
Western cultures.
d. all of the above
e. none of the above

b 70. The type of holistic, situation-dependent thinking that Nisbett claimed is typical of
people in Asian cultures also leads these individuals to
a. perform better than people in Europe and the United States on spatial tasks.
b. perform more poorly than people in Europe and the United States on spatial
tasks.
c. have less confidence in their verbal abilities than people in Western countries.
d. both a and c

c 71. According to Richard Nisbett, ________ is more important than _________ in

understanding cognitive abilities.
a. status . . . . culture
b. gender . . . . culture
c. culture . . . . gender
d. power . . . . gender
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 123

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the magnitude of the gender-related differences in verbal, quantitative, and

spatial performance and the implications for these differences in terms of coursework
and careers.

2. From a developmental point of view, evaluate the statement “Math is a male

domain.”

3. Evaluate the likely sources of gender-related differences in mental abilities.

4. What evidence suggests that gender differences in mental abilities vary with culture?

Look for the following points in students’ answers:

1. A. The magnitude of gender-related differences in verbal, quantitative, and spatial

performance is not large.
B. Although women have showed advantages in verbal abilities, those differences
have decreased over the past 40 years, except for writing, which remains large.
C. Gender-related differences in mathematical and quantitative abilities have also
showed changes over time.
1. Such differences do not appear until junior high school.
2. The differences appear in attitudes toward math and in performance on some
standardized tests, but girls make better grades in math classes.
D. Gender-related differences in spatial abilities are the largest of those for mental
abilities.
1. Men have the advantage in some spatial abilities, such as mental rotation,
spatial perception, and possibly spatiotemporal perception.
2. Spatial visualization shows little gender difference.
E. With such small differences, these gender differences in performance should not
have a strong relationship to coursework or career choices.
1. The differences in coursework is influenced by the choices that girls make,
subject to social and parental pressure.
2. The differences in careers are related to the differences in choices of what to
study and which career to follow.

2. A. Math is not a male domain during elementary school

1. Girls make better grades.
2. Girls score higher on standardized math tests.
B. During middle school, girls begin to feel less confident about math.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 124

1. Both boys and girls lose confidence, but girls’ confidence falls more.
2. Parents believe that boys’ math accomplishments are due to talent but girls’
accomplishments are due to effort.
C. The gender gap in math confidence increases during high school.
1. Girls and boys now take an equal number of math courses.
2. Girls still have less positive attitudes about math and feel that it is less
relevant to their futures.
D. During college, the gender gap continues.
1. Women identify math as a male domain.
2. Even women who have math-related majors see math as a male domain.

3. A. Evidence for brain differences

1. The structural differences between men and women do not exist in structures
that relate to mental abilities, with the possible exception of lateralization in the
cerebral hemispheres. Arguments that lateralization is an advantage is consistent
with men’s advantage in some spatial abilities but not with women’s advantage
in many verbal abilities.
2. Brain imaging technology has allowed the investigation of functional
differences between the brains of men and women.
a. These studies have revealed gender differences in function but not in
performance.
b. The brain imaging studies have found more similarities than differences
in men's and women's brain functioning.
B. Evidence for motivation and expectation
1. Gender differences in verbal, quantitative, and spatial performance have
changed over time and vary across cultures, which is not consistent with a
biological basis for these differences.
2. Parents treat boys and girls differently with respect to their verbal and
mathematical abilities, holding different expectations for their sons and
daughters.
3. The gender differences in mental abilities are small, but the gender
differences in curriculum and career choices are large.

4. A. Most research has concentrated on European Americans in the United States.

1. The assumption has been that these results generalize to others.
2. The pattern of advantage for men on standardized math tests and
assessments of some spatial abilities appears among White men in the United
States, but this pattern of differences does not appear for African Americans,
Hispanic Americans, or Asian Americans.
B. Studies with several cultures have failed to show the advantage for men and
spatial abilities that appears in the U.S.
1. Among the Auca, women score higher than men.
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 125

2. Boys and girls in northern Pakistan, children in Ecuador, and children in

Norway showed similar performance on various spatial tasks.
2. The women in some cultures score higher than the men in other cultures.

ACTIVITIES

Examining the Media

For Chapter 7, the "According to the Media” and “According to Research" boxes
examined video games. Most video games are oriented toward boys, and research
indicates that this experience may help them develop spatial performance. Girls miss out
on this experience. Several companies have attempted to develop and market video
games for girls, and your students can examine these games and their success. What are
the most popular video games? Are these games aimed at boys? What in these popular
games would boys find appealing and girls find uninteresting or offensive? Are there
video games for girls? How do these games differ from those aimed at boys? Do the
games aimed at girls have the same potential to develop spatial ability as those aimed at
boys?
Two videos provide an interesting addition or alternative to this activity. One
video is Game Over, a video about the video game industry that examines the violence,
racial aspects, and gender portrayals in video games. (2000, 41 minutes) Available from
Media Education Foundation, 26 Center Street, Northhampton, MA 01060; telephone
(800) 897-0089, Fax (413) 586-8398, www.mediaed.org.
The second video is Sex, Murder, and Video Games, which is a 15-minute video
released in 2003 that examines violence in video games and the negative portrayals of
women in these games. Available from Insight Media, 2162 Broadway, New York, NY
10024-6621; telephone (800) 233-9910, Fax (212) 799-5309; online www.insight-
media.com.

Individual Comparisons of Ability

To show your class how similar scores for men and women are on tests of verbal
and mathematical abilities, you can demonstrate by playing a game. This game involves
drawing numbers from two different containers, one for women's scores and one for
men's scores. For each draw, your class must guess whose ability score will be higher—
women or men. In addition, they should indicate their confidence in this prediction.
For this game, you will need slips of paper, each with a number. For two
distributions of scores with a 1% difference, write 0 through 49 for one set and 1 through
50 for the other, distinguishing the two in some way (such as the color of the slips of
paper). Although these numbers are not a normal distribution, they provide an easy
demonstration of two sets of numbers with a small difference similar to women’s
Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities 126

advantage in verbal and men’s advantage in quantitative tests. To demonstrate a

situation with an advantage in favor of women, such as the small female advantages in
verbal performance, designate the 1-50 as women’s scores. Reversing the gender
designation with let you play the game with a male advantage, such as the one that
exists in mathematical performance. Do not allow your students to participate in
making the slips of paper, but tell them that the two sets of numbers represent the level
of advantage for women’s verbal performance or men’s math performance.
The slips of paper should be put into a container so that someone can draw a slip
of paper from each container without seeing the information on the slips. Before the
information is read for each drawing, members of the class should say whether the score
for men or women should be higher and indicate their confidence.
Your class may be cautious, but if they have stereotypical beliefs in gender
advantages and disadvantages for these abilities, they initially may make confident
predictions about a reliable advantage for women (verbal) or men (mathematical). A
few drawings should make them less confident, but continue playing the game until at
least half of the numbers have been drawn so that your class will understand how small
a 1% differences is and how poor a predictor gender is of these differences in abilities.

Examining the Tasks

Arrange a class activity around examining the various tasks that researchers have
used to measure verbal, quantitative, or spatial abilities. If possible, bring as many
materials as you can that researchers have used to assess these abilities. Researchers
have used many different tasks for each, and an examination of the tasks can help to
reveal the reason for the diversity of research findings: So many different methods of
measurement contribute to inconsistent results. Looking at these various tasks can lead
to a better understanding of the assessments and the varied results.
Which tasks have revealed gender-related differences? Are these differences
specific to children or adults? Has the pattern of results changed over time, becoming
smaller in recent years? Considering each type of abilities, what, if anything, do the
tasks have in common?

On the Web

Want to take an IQ test? Online versions of several IQ-type tests are available on
QueenDom.com (http://www.queendom.com/tests/index.html). In addition to
traditional IQ-type tests, this webpage offers assessments of verbal and spatial abilities.
Information about intelligence and assessments in other areas are also available. Lots of
fun.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 REFERENCES
Chapter VIII

271
The Western Gleaner or Repository for Arts, Sciences, and
Literature, Pittsburgh, Pa., August, 1814, vol. ii, pp. 173–
175.
272
Pittsburgh Gazette, June 28, 1800.
273
Pittsburgh Gazette, December 4, 1801.
274
Tree of Liberty, October 18, 1800.
275
Pittsburgh Gazette, March 20, 1801.
276
Tree of Liberty, June 13, 1801.
277
Pittsburgh Gazette, December 4, 1801.
278
Tree of Liberty, August 7, 1802.
279
Pittsburgh Gazette, December 4, 1801; Tree of Liberty,
August 7, 1802.
280
Pittsburgh Gazette, December 17, 1813.
281
Pittsburgh Gazette, March 27, 1812.
282
The Navigator, Pittsburgh, 1814, pp. 258–259.
283
John Mellish: Travels in the United States of America in the
years 1806–1807–1809–1810 and 1811, Philadelphia,
vol. ii., p. 58.
284
Christian Schultz, Jun.: Travels on an Inland Voyage, New
York, 1810, p. 133.
 CHAPTER IX
THE BROADENING OF CULTURE

Cramer’s business prospered. His was the only establishment in

Pittsburgh where the sale of books was the predominant feature. He
285
had long called it the “Pittsburgh Bookstore.” Oliver Ormsby,
whose store was in the brick house on Water Street, at the westerly
side of Chancery Lane, sold “Dilworth’s and Webster’s Spelling
books, testaments, and Bibles in Dutch and English, primers, toy
286 287
books, and a variety of histories, novels, etc.” William Christy
288
and John Wrenshall kept a few books, a special feature of the
latter’s business being the sale of Dr. Jonathan Edwards’s Sermons,
but compared with Cramer’s stock, the supply of books in other
hands was insignificant. Cramer was also practically the only
publisher of books in the borough. After he had been publishing for a
few years, others began the business, but their books were few in
number and generally unimportant in character. Cramer’s
advertisements were sometimes amusing. He sold his goods for
money, or in trade, and in making the announcement employed the
axiomatic language of “Poor Richard.” This was one of his naïve
notices: “I hope the ladies and all good girls and boys will not forget
to fetch me all the clean linen and cotton rags they possibly can.
Save the smallest pieces and put them in a rag bag; save them from
the fire and the ash heap. It is both honorable and profitable to save
289
rags, for our country wants them.”
He added new lines to his business. Articles which tended to
elevate and refine the standard of living were introduced. Wall
papers had been in use in the East to a limited extent since 1769,
and were no longer rare in good homes. In the West they were
scarcely known until Cramer advertised his “large stock of hanging
290
or wall papers.” He sold stationery, writing paper, Italian and hot-
pressed letter paper, wafers, quills, camel-hair pencils, inkstands,
sealing wax, red and black ink powders. Card playing was one of the
leading social diversions and he had the best English and American
playing cards. Patent medicines were largely used and Cramer
found it profitable to supply the demand. He had books of
instructions for the flute, the violin, the piano-forte, and books of
songs. His stock of English dictionaries included those of Nathan
Bailey, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Thomas Sheridan, and John Walker.
For the German population he had books in the German language,
which he often designated as “Dutch” books. He sold German
almanacs, German Bibles and testaments. Many of the German
churches, both in Pittsburgh and in the surrounding settlements, had
schools attached to their churches, where the German language was
taught in connection with English studies. For these schools Cramer
supplied the books. Ever since the cession of Louisiana to the United
States there had been a great increase in the students of the French
language among Americans, who intended either to engage in
commerce with the people of that territory, or expected to settle
291
there. The liberally advertised easy methods of learning French
induced many persons to engage in its study. For these Cramer kept
French books. He also sold Greek and Latin schoolbooks, Greek
and Latin dictionaries, and Spanish grammars.
In the early years Cramer had no press of his own. A printing
office being located at either end of the block in which he was
established, he divided his work between them. The Almanacs were
printed by John Israel, and the Navigators, by John Scull. Business
increased and he deemed it advisable to do his own printing, and on
August 14, 1805, announced that he had “received a press, and a
very handsome assortment of new type, for the purpose of printing
such literary and ecclesiastical works as may be most in
292
demand.” His publications now became more numerous and
pretentious.
 He was too active to limit his energies to his business. In 1803,
he became Secretary of the Mechanical Society, and thenceforth
devoted much attention to the office, which he held for several years.
He was not an active politician, but was warmly attached to the
Republican party, and moreover had the respect of the entire
community. In 1811, when a division took place in the Republican
party in Allegheny County, and two tickets were placed in the field,
his standing was such, that he was named as a member of the
293
committee selected to bring about harmony. Like the modern
successful business man, he had a desire for the free life and clear
skies of the country, and he engaged in farming and sheep-raising.
When he died he had on the plantation of his brother-in-law, Josiah
Clark, in Washington County, a flock of one hundred and twenty-
eight sheep.
In 1808, the partnership with John Spear began, and the firm
became known as Cramer & Spear. The establishment, however,
continued to be called “Zadok Cramer’s Bookstore”; sometimes it
was advertised as “Zadok Cramer’s Classical, Literary, and Law
Bookstore.” In 1810, William Eichbaum was taken into the firm. He
had served a seven years’ apprenticeship in bookbinding with
Cramer, and with Cramer & Spear, and was the son of William
Eichbaum, the elder. It may be that young Eichbaum was the “active
youth of good morals and respectable character, wanted to learn the
bookbinding and stationery business,” for whom Cramer had
294
advertised on November 6, 1802. The firm was now Cramer,
Spear & Eichbaum, and continued as such until 1818, the year of the
death of Elizabeth Cramer, the widow of Zadok Cramer, when
Eichbaum withdrew and the firm was again changed to Cramer &
Spear.
Cramer had traveled extensively, first in pursuit of information for
his Navigators, and later in search of health. He went down the Ohio
295
in 1806. In 1810, he was in Kentucky. When the New Orleans, the
first steamboat that ran on the Western rivers was being operated
between Natchez and New Orleans, he descended the Mississippi
River in it twice, from the former to the latter place. Much of the
information in regard to the New Orleans, its structure, cost,
earnings, and length of time required between river points, is to be
296
found in the Navigators.
It would be impossible at this late day to compile a complete list
of Cramer’s publications, nor would it serve any useful purpose. He
published many schoolbooks, particularly for children in the primary
grades. His Pittsburgh and New England primers, and the United
States Spelling Book, were famous in their day. Ecclesiastical books
were in great demand, and Cramer met it. Catechisms were used as
books of primary instruction and were printed in many forms; there
were Larger Catechisms, Shorter Catechisms, the Mother’s
Catechism, and the Child’s Catechism. For the Germans he
published in German, The Shorter Catechism of Dr. Martin Luther.
The religious books that came from his press would form an endless
list. Among those having a bearing on the history of that time was,
The Marks of a Work of the Spirit, together with Remarks Respecting
the Present Astonishing Work of God, and Revival of Religion in the
297
Western Country, by J. Hughes of West Liberty. “J. Hughes,” was
the Rev. James Hughes, pastor of the Presbyterian churches at
Lower Buffalo in Washington County, and West Liberty in the
adjoining county of Ohio in Virginia, and one of the trustees of the
recently established Jefferson College, the pioneer college of the
West.
Cramer lived and flourished in an age when many of the
publications sent out in the name of religion contained the merest
drivel, or were elaborations of theories in regard to matters infinite
held by narrow-minded controversialists. The press was flooded with
them. There were publications bearing such depressing titles as The
Happy Voyage Completed, and The Sure Anchor Cast. Cramer
realized that in publishing works of this character he might be
misunderstood. This sentiment was evident in the advertisement of
at least one of his publications. On that occasion he prefaced his
notice by stating: “On the recommendation of some pious friends, we
contemplate printing, A Token for children, Being an exact account of
the Conversion, holy and exemplary Lives and Joyful Deaths of
298
several young children!”
The most pretentious of his works was religious in character, and
was published in 1807. It was A Dictionary of the Holy Bible by the
Rev. John Brown of Haddington, in Scotland, of which two editions
were printed. It was a noteworthy achievement to be accomplished
on the frontier, hundreds of miles from the center of civilization. Many
difficulties had to be overcome, not the least of which was the delay
299
occasioned by the difficulty in procuring a regular supply of paper.
The work was in two large octavo volumes, and was illustrated with
engraved pictures and maps that are still desired by collectors.
Heading the list of subscribers, was the name of President Jefferson,
of whom Cramer appears to have been an ardent admirer. In 1810,
the firm published the Select Remains of the Rev. John Brown, the
author of the Dictionary.
Cramer’s publications covered a wide range. In 1808 The
Lawyer, by George Watterson, appeared, which was imbued with the
current prejudice against lawyers, and presented a sorry spectacle of
the legal profession. The same year, a map of Pittsburgh was
published, which, if in existence to-day, would be of great interest.
One of his most valuable contributions to the literature of travel, was
Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country in 1807–1809, by F.
Cuming, published in 1810. It contained according to Reuben Gold
300
Thwaites, a “picture of American life in the West at the beginning
of the nineteenth century that for clear-cut outlines and fidelity of
presentation has the effect of a series of photographic
representations.” Another work of value was Views of Louisiana, by
Judge Henry M. Brackenridge, published in 1814. Cramer had met
Brackenridge in New Orleans, in December, 1811, while on one of
his visits to that city, and arranged with him there for the
301
publication. In 1813, The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith were
brought out.
One of the most important ventures of Cramer’s entire publishing
experience, the fruition of which he did not live to see, was The
Western Gleaner or Repository for Arts, Sciences, and Literature. It
was a monthly magazine of sixty-four pages. The first number
appeared in December, 1813, four months after Cramer’s death.
Compared with magazines of the present time, it was not of the
highest order of literary merit. In its day, however, it ranked with the
best magazines published. The excellent literary taste of the editor
also appears from an incident which occurred during the early life of
the magazine. The Pittsburgh Gazette published a communication
from a disappointed aspirant for literary fame, signing himself
“Recluse,” whose poem in fourteen stanzas entitled “The Two
Roses,” had been declined by the Western Gleaner. “Recluse”
referred sarcastically to the “uncommonly profound and very
discerning editor of the Western Gleaner.”
That the editor of the Western Gleaner was more “discerning”
than the editor of the Pittsburgh Gazette, which published
“Recluse’s” effort, along with his letter, is evident from a perusal of
the poem. The first stanza, which is also the best, reads:

“The sweetest rose that ever bloomed,

Was one that, with insidious sip,
Beneath Eliza’s smiles presumed,
302
To pilfer fragrance from her lip.”

The same persistency which procured the publication of “The Two

Roses” in the Pittsburgh Gazette, enabled “Recluse” a few years
later to find a publisher for a volume of his poetry, in which “The Two
303
Roses” was one of the gems.
In one of the numbers of the magazine Judge Hugh Henry
Brackenridge contributed a poem, descriptive of his feelings on
revisiting Pittsburgh, called “On a Circuit at This Place.”

“What is there in this spot of earth

Repellant to all zest of mirth,
 Heart-felt by me,
And which on being seen again,
The Hill, the River and the Plain
304
To sadden, all agree!”

Cramer realized that books having a local interest would find a

ready sale. One of these was Judge Hugh Henry Brackenridge’s
Modern Chivalry; another was his Incidents of the Insurrection in
Western Pennsylvania, which was an effort to vindicate himself for
his course in the Whisky Insurrection. Judge Addison’s impeachment
in 1803, by the Republican General Assembly, had created profound
interest in Pittsburgh. The account of the trial was immediately
published in Lancaster, then the capital of the State, and eagerly
read. Another book of local interest was Colonel James Smith’s
Captivity among the Indians Westward of Fort Pitt in the Year 1755,
published at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1799.
Although a Republican himself, Cramer’s mercantile instincts led
him to sell books written in opposition to that party. A little volume of
poems was of this class. David Bruce, a Scotchman living in the
adjacent village of Burgettstown, whom Cramer designated as “an
ingenious Scotch poet of Washington County,” had published in
1801, in Washington, Pennsylvania, a book which, while mainly
political in character, had considerable merit. Bruce was a strong
Federalist, and his volume was dedicated to Judge Addison. To the
Republicans, Brackenridge, Gallatin, McKean, and other more or
less local celebrities, Bruce’s references were disparaging. To
Brackenridge he addressed the cynical lines:

“When Whisky-Boys sedition sang,

An’ anarchy strod owre the lan’
When Folly led Rebellion’s ban’
Sae fierce an’ doure,
Fo’ks said ye sleely lent a han’
305
To mak the stoure.”
 A book of the same character, but covering a wider range, and of
a higher literary tone, was The Echo. It had a local interest in that it
contained a number of clever satirical references to Judge Hugh
Henry Brackenridge. In the latter part of the eighteenth century,
Hartford was the literary center of Federalistic ideas. They were
promulgated by a group of young authors known as the “Hartford
Wits.” Included in the coterie was Richard Alsop, who was the
principal writer of The Echo. The Echo had originally appeared
serially, but in 1807, the parts were collected and published in a
volume. The allusions to Brackenridge indicated a keen sense of
humor and considerable poetic spirit. An article written by
Brackenridge had appeared in 1792 in the National Gazette of
Philadelphia, then recently established as the organ of the
Republicans, in which he urged savage reprisals against the Indians,
who were causing trouble west of Pittsburgh. To this screed, The
Echo made the mocking reply:

“I grant my pardon to that dreaming clan,

Who think that Indians have the rights of man;
Who deem the dark skinn’d chiefs those miscreants base,
Have souls like ours, and are of human race;
And say the scheme so wise, so nobly plann’d.
For rooting out these serpents from the land,
To kill their squaws, their children yet unborn,
To burn their wigwams, and pull up their corn;
By sword and fire to purge the unhallow’d train,
And kindly send them to a world of pain,
Is vile, unjust, absurd:—as if our God
One single thought on Indians e’er bestow’d,
To them his care extends, or even knew,
306
Before Columbus told him where they grew.”

On another occasion when Brackenridge was a candidate for

Congress, he published in the Aurora an appeal to the electors of his
Congressional District in which he animadverted harshly on the
educational accomplishments of General John Woods, his Federalist
opponent. This presented another opportunity for the clever writers
of The Echo to burlesque a leading Republican. The Echo gibed:

“But, to return to Woods,—to speak my mind,

His education was of narrow kind;
Nor has he since to learning much applied,
But smil’d with calm contempt on pedant pride.
His mental powers, howe’er, superior shine,
His genius glows with energy divine.
But when with mine in competition plac’d.
How low his powers, his genius sinks debas’d,
Has not my genius shone with peerless ray,
And o’er Ohio pour’d the blaze of day?
Have not my writings spread abroad my name,
And bards consign’d me to immortal fame?
Then shall John Woods with me presume to vie,
307
The brightest star that decks the western sky?”

Cramer’s books covered the entire range of literary endeavor

and among them were a majority of the contemporary publications.
The French Revolutionary movement was well represented. A work
coming under this designation was the Life and Campaigns of
General Count Alexander Suwarrow, which was of interest also
because Suwarrow’s title to fame rested at least partly on the fact
that he was the originator of the high tasseled-boot, much worn both
in military and civil circles after the year 1800. There was a flood of
Bonapartist literature. A book of this class which had a local interest
was the Life of General Jean Victor Moreau. After being exiled from
France on account of conspiring against Napoleon, this officer had
come to the United States in 1805, and made a tour of the Ohio and
Mississippi Valleys. Having passed through Pittsburgh, his name
was well known there. Works of travel were numerous. Conspicuous
in biography were the lives of Washington, Franklin, and Kotzebue,
the German playwright and novelist, then at the height of his career.
There were histories of various European countries, and William
Winterbotham’s History of the American United States. The History
of Women, if at hand to-day, would be of interest to that large body
of women who are making such herculean efforts to obtain greater
rights for their sex. Among the notable books of the day was Thomas
Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia. Two editions had been
published prior to Jefferson’s becoming President. After the election
in 1800, the work was republished in a large octavo volume, for
308
which Cramer was agent in Pittsburgh. Another book which
attracted considerable attention was the History of John Adams,
Esquire, late president of the United States, by John Wood. It was a
rank Republican account of a most interesting period. It was printed
and ready for publication in December, 1801, but was suppressed at
the instigation of Aaron Burr, as being incorrect and libelous. The
book was finally published in 1802. A companion-piece to Wood’s
book, was the one by James Cheetham, which gave an account of
the suppression. It was entitled, A Narrative of the Suppression by
Col. Burr of the History of the Administration of John Adams, by a
Citizen of New York.
Philosophy was not neglected. Representative of that science
were William Enfield’s History of Philosophy, William Smellie’s
Philosophy of Natural History, Francis Hutchinson’s System of Moral
Philosophy, and Count Volney’s Law of Nature. Books relating to
trades, included the Miller and Millwright’s Guide; the Young
Carpenter’s Assistant; the New System of Gardening; the Dictionary
of Husbandry; Washington’s Letters to Arthur Young; the English
Gardener; and Elements of Architecture. Freemasonry was
described in William Preston’s Illustrations of Masonry. Among books
relating to the professions, those pertaining to divinity were most
numerous. The Methodists had increased in numbers and were in
better standing in the community. John Wrenshall was addressed as
the “Rev.” John Wrenshall, and Cramer began to sell the Memoirs of
George Whitfield, the famous exponent of Methodism. Law books
were a close second to those of divinity. There were books on state,
national, and international law. In medicine there were books for
family use, and books for physicians.
 Belles-lettres and poetry formed an important department.
Predominant in belles-lettres were the writings of Addison, Steele,
and Pope in the Spectator, and its successors, the Guardian, and
the Tattler; Dr. Johnson, in his “Rambler”; and Salmagundi, when it
appeared in 1807. Junius’s Letters; the works of Lawrence Sterne;
the Posthumous Works of Jonathan Swift; and Peter Pindar’s Satires
were other books in this department. In the selection of plays, those
of Kotzebue were prominent. The English plays were represented by
George Colman, the younger’s, The Poor Gentleman, a comedy
produced in Covent Garden in 1801, and by Thomas Morton’s,
Speed the Plough, produced in 1798. Because of its authorship, The
Battle of Bunker Hill, by Judge Hugh Henry Brackenridge, had a
local interest. In the realm of poetry, were the poems of John
Pomfret, Robert Burns, Dr. Thomas Brown, Alexander Pope, John
Milton, Thomas Moore, Allan Ramsay, and Robert Southey. In this
class was Thomas Campbell’s The Pleasures of Hope; James
Beattie’s The Minstrel; Samuel Rogers’s Pleasures of Memory;
William Cowper’s Beauties of Cowper, and The Task; Joel Barlow’s
The Vision of Columbus; Robert Bloomfield’s, The Farmer’s Boy,
and A Song; James Thomson’s Seasons. Zaida, by Kotzebue;
Charlotte Temple, by Mrs. Susanna Rowson, and Don Quixote were
popular romances. In colonial days, and in the early days of the
republic, little stitched pamphlets, called chapbooks, because largely
circulated by itinerant vendors, or chapmen, were much in vogue.
Books in this form for children had a large circulation, and Cramer
carried an interesting list.
Cramer’s upright nature often led him to express opinions that
were contrary to the views obtaining in publications of his firm.
Cuming in his Tour of the Western Country, in the reference to
Pittsburgh had written: “Amusements are also a good deal attended
to, particularly the annual horse races.” On this observation Cramer
commented in a note: “We are sorry to have to acknowledge that
horse racing contrary to the express law of the State, has been more
or less practiced within the vicinity of this place for a few years back;
but we are pleased with the prospect of having it totally abolished by
the influence of its evident impropriety, danger, and wickedness,
 309
operating on the minds of the more thoughtful and judicious.”
That Cramer was not alone in condemning the horse races is
apparent from a communication which had appeared in the
310
Pittsburgh Gazette six years earlier. This writer designated the
races as “a fruitful seminary of vice.” He declared that the “schools
and shops are shut up or deserted, and the youth of both sexes run
to harm, folly, and debauchery.... The money, too, which ought to be
expended in the honest maintenance of families and the payment of
debts is squandered on sharpers, gamblers and sutlers.”
If some fact or custom was referred to, which Cramer considered
morally wrong, or which might disparage Pittsburgh in the eyes of
the world at large, he spoke out vigorously in opposition. In the
311
Navigator for 1811, the statement was made that there were “two
or three whisky distilleries in the town.” This was immediately
followed in the text by a disapproval of distilleries, and a quaint
homily on the evils of intemperance. “We cannot say anything in
praise of these,” Cramer wrote. “Whisky as a medicine is good, that
is, to take it only when the system requires it and no more than is
sufficient to perform the part of a gentle stimulant; but to drink it as is
now universally practiced, is destructive of health, strength, morals,
religion, and honesty; and is a serious national calamity, in which
man sinks in the estimation of himself, and becomes an abhorrence
in the eyes of God.”
Cramer’s career was short. He had never been robust, and close
attention to business had undermined his constitution; consumption
developed. He attempted in vain to obtain relief in southern travel,
and died on August 1, 1813, just before reaching his fortieth year, at
Pensacola, Florida, while on the way to Havana, the journey having
been recommended by his physician. In Pensacola his remains were
buried and there they lie in an unmarked grave. To the last he was
planning new business projects, and preserved his cheerfulness to
the end. Not once was he known to be fretful or ill-natured. He left
his widow and one child, a daughter, Susan. The firm was continued
for many years, first by the widow, in conjunction with John Spear,
and after her death on May 5, 1818, by the daughter. The affairs of
the partnership were not wound up until July 6, 1835.
In early life the daughter married Dr. J. B. Cochran in Pittsburgh.
Becoming a widow, she removed to Beaver, Pennsylvania, with her
three children. Her children were Zadok Cramer Cochran, James
Spear Cochran, and Mary Cochran. After their mother’s death in
1854, the children removed to Coatesville, Pennsylvania. From
Coatesville they went to Freeport, Illinois. Here the two sons
engaged in teaching and conducted an academy. James later took
up the study of the law, and was admitted to the Bar. Drifting into
politics he was elected to the State Senate. The two brothers are
both dead, but the sister is still living, being the wife of Joseph
Emmert, of Freeport, Illinois.
 REFERENCES
Chapter IX

285
Tree of Liberty, August 7, 1802.
286
Pittsburgh Gazette, October 10, 1800.
287
Tree of Liberty, January 16, 1802.
288
Tree of Liberty, October 8, 1803.
289
Pittsburgh Gazette, April 19, 1808.
290
Tree of Liberty, May 21, 1803.
291
Pittsburgh Gazette, January 9, 1801.
292
The Commonwealth, August 14, 1805.
293
The Commonwealth, September 29, 1811.
294
Tree of Liberty, November 6, 1802.
295
The Navigator, Pittsburgh, 1814, pp. 272–277.
296
The Navigator, Pittsburgh, 1814, pp. 31–32.
297
Tree of Liberty, June 4, 1803.
298
The Pittsburgh Magazine Almanac for 1810.
299
The Pittsburgh Magazine Almanac for 1807.
300
Reuben Gold Thwaites: Fortescue Cuming, Sketches of a
Tour to the Western Country in 1807–1809, Cleveland,
Ohio, 1904, p. 9.
301
H. M. Brackenridge: Views of Louisiana, Pittsburgh, 1814,
p. 4.
302
Pittsburgh Gazette, January 28, 1814.
303
The Recluse: The Art of Domestic Happiness and Other
Poems, Pittsburgh, 1817, pp. 1–317.
304
The Western Gleaner or Repository for Arts, Sciences, and
Literature, Pittsburgh, 1814, vol. ii., pp. 185–186.
305
David Bruce: Poems entirely in the Scottish Dialect,
originally written under the signature of the Scots-
Irishman, Washington, 1801, p. 46.
306
The Echo, pp. 32–39.
307
The Echo, pp. 150–151.
308
Tree of Liberty, January 24, 1801.
309
F. Cuming: Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country in
1807–1809, Pittsburgh, 1810, p. 231.
310
Pittsburgh Gazette, October 16, 1801.
311
The Navigator, Pittsburgh, 1811, p. 63.
 INDEX

Adams, George, 114, 128

Adams, Henry, 81
Adams, John, 165;
History of, 200
Addison, Alexander, Judge, impeachment of, 47–48, 139, 195;
Federalist, 131, 132
Adgate & Co., 104
Allegheny County, 22, 23
Allegheny County Courts, 157
Allegheny County Militia, 74, 75
Almanacs, 4, 165, 172;
Cramer’s, 172–174;
“Common,” 174;
“Magazine,” 174
Alsop, Richard, 197
Amberson, Beelen, & Anshutz, 152
American Coast Pilot, 182
Amusements, 67–74, 186, 203
Arnold, actor, 70
Ash, Thomas, 181
Ashton, Capt. Joseph, 95, 151
Ashton & Denny, 152
Audrian, Peter, 49
Aurora, newspaper, 51

Baird, Thomas, 96, 128, 130

Baldwin, Henry, 96, 141, 148, 149;
attacked by Pentland, 145, 146
Balls, 68, 72;
for Gen. Lee, 69
Bank of Pennsylvania, branch, 93, 116
Baptists, 95
Barker, Abner, 116, 117, 132
Barker, Jeffe, 116, 117
Barker, Jeremiah, 117, 132
Barrett, William, 121
Bartholf, Francis, Baron de Belen, 152
Bates, Edward, 145
Bates, Frederick, 143, 145, 148
Bates, James, 145, 148
Bates, Tarleton, 96, 131, 141 ff.;
duel, 142–150
Bausman, Elizabeth, marriage, 125
Bausman, Jacob, 30;
varied career, 41–42
Bausman, Nicholas, 41
Bayard, Colo. Stephen, 5
Beaujolais, Count of, 111
Bedford County, 2
Beelen, Anthony, 96, 150, 152
Beelen, Francis, 152
Beltzhoover, Melchoir, 41
“Black Charley,” 39
Blunt, Edmund, American Coast Pilot, 182
Boat yards, 8, 40, 92
Books, in households, 14;
sale of, 14, 15, 27;
interest in, 27;
most popular, 169–171;
 Cramer’s publications, 189 ff.;
contemporaneous history, 190;
of local interest, 195–196;
contemporary publications, 199;
in Cramer’s bookstore, 199 ff.
Bookstores, 95;
first, 27;
Cramer’s “Pittsburgh Bookstore,” 116, 163, 186, 188, 199 ff.;
Christy’s and Wrenshall’s, 184
Boyd, John, 15, 16
Brackenridge, Henry M., Judge, recollections of Grant’s Hill, 71;
account of horse racing, 73;
on the Court of Allegheny County, 118;
Views of Louisiana, 193
Brackenridge, Hugh Henry, Judge, 49, 71;
author, 26, 195, 197, 198, 202;
Modern Chivalry, 26;
political leader, 55;
Fourth of July speech, 56;
Justice of Supreme Court, 58;
opposed to Brison, 58 ff.;
and the Tree of Liberty, 62–63;
and the Whisky Insurrection, 81, 106, 124, 195;
Freemason, 95;
residence, 97, 115;
antagonizes soldiers, 115–116;
candidate for Congress, 125, 198;
attacks on, 133–134;
and impeachment of Addison, 139;
settles Gilkison’s affairs, 163;
Bruce’s lines to, 196;
satires on, in The Echo, 197–198
Braddocksfield, 119
Brantz, Lewis, notes on Pittsburgh, 9, 30
Breweries, 78, 92
Brickyards, 31, 92