A study of second to fourth digit ratio in relation to verbal and numerical intelligence among medical students

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Biomedicine (India)

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Prenatal androgens are believed to be one of the probable etiological factors influencing intellectual development of an individual. In-utero testosterone exposure has been thought to affect the digit ratio which is the ratio of lengths of index finger and ring finger (2D:4D). In the present work we intended to study the correlation of 2D:4D with numerical and verbal intelligence believed to be variable among genders. The aim of our study was to find the association of 2D:4D with Verbal Intelligence and Numerical Intelligence in a sample of medical students. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in a sample of medical students. 44 female and 44 male students participated in the study. 2D:4D measurements were made using standard procedure after which the participants completed a questionnaire containing 20 questions each to test numerical and verbal intelligence. Results: In this study, Males were found to have a lower 2D:4D when compared to females. Individuals with lower 2D:4D in their right-hand were seen to have lower verbal intelligence and higher numerical intelligence thus suggesting that males are born with better numerical intelligence and females with greater verbal intelligence. Conclusion: Digit ratio can be considered as a valuable indicator of individual differences in terms of intelligence, although the exact role of testosterone on brain to cause variation in these cognitive domains is yet to be clearly understood.

First Page

283

Last Page

286

DOI

10.51248/.v41i2.797

Publication Date

4-1-2021

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