Abstract Male cognition has gained recognition as an important potential player in sexual selection. A number of studies have found positive correlations between male sexual signals and cognitive performance and/or female preferences for males with better cognitive performance, although other studies have not found these relationships. Sex roles can differ dramatically, and sex differences in selection on cognition likely follow from the different tasks associated with these sex roles. Here, using threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, a species with clearly divergent sex roles and mutual mate choice, we focus on the cognitive trait inhibitory control because males must differentially respond to reproductive females versus other sticklebacks while defending territories and refrain from eating eggs and fry while performing paternal care. We presented fish with a detour task four times over a period of 7 days, allowing us to assess initial inhibitory control and improvement over time. We ask 1) whether there are sex differences in inhibitory control and 2) whether male mate choice is associated with female inhibitory control. Although males outperformed females on three different measures of detour task performance across four trials, these differences were largely explained by males being less neophobic than females. Females took more trials to successfully solve the detour task, even after accounting for sex differences in neophobia. Female cognitive abilities, however, were unrelated to the vigor with which males courted them. The equivocal results regarding sex differences in cognitive ability suggest further study given the very different selection pressures each sex experiences.

中文翻译：

---

认知的性别差异及其与男性择偶的关系

摘要 男性认知作为性选择的重要潜在参与者已获得认可。许多研究发现男性性信号与认知表现和/或女性对认知表现更好的男性的偏好之间存在正相关，尽管其他研究没有发现这些关系。性别角色可能会有很大差异，认知选择中的性别差异可能源于与这些性别角色相关的不同任务。在这里，使用三刺棘鱼 Gasterosteus aculeatus，一种具有明显不同性别角色和相互择偶的物种，我们专注于认知特征抑制控制，因为雄性必须在捍卫领土的同时对繁殖雌性和其他棘鱼做出不同的反应，并且在保护领土的同时避免吃鸡蛋和鱼苗。执行父亲的照顾。我们在 7 天内向鱼展示了四次绕行任务，使我们能够评估初始抑制控制和随时间的改进。我们询问 1) 抑制控制是否存在性别差异，2) 雄性配偶选择是否与雌性抑制控制相关。尽管在四项试验中，男性在三种不同的绕道任务表现指标上的表现优于女性，但这些差异在很大程度上是因为男性比女性更不惧怕新人。即使考虑到恐新症的性别差异，女性也进行了更多的尝试以成功解决绕道任务。然而，女性的认知能力与男性向她们求爱的活力无关。