This study explores gender differences during the adaptation to two altered task components- compatibility and order of control-in using a joystick control. Compatibility means that the directions of the control (arm movement) and display (cursor) movements are in the same direction (parallel) while incompatibility indicates that the direction of the control and display movements go in opposite directions when subjects face the computer. In position control, the joystick positions the cursor: A single unidirectional movement will cause a single unidirectional output motion. In velocity control, the position of the control determines the velocity of the controlled object: Bi-directional movement is needed to cause a unidirectional output motion on the screen. PURPOSE: Although the female workforce has generally increased in industry, the number of female heavy machine and aircraft operators is still significantly lower than the male workforce. Therefore, the results of this study may be applicable to the workplace to explore if there is a gender difference for learning and adapting to a visually complex task. METHODS: 36 subjects (23 ± 2.73 years of age), with an equal number of male and female, directed a cursor onto a circular target on a monitor as quickly as possible. A joystick directed cursor movements having either position or velocity control order and compatible or incompatible mapping, depending on the test. There were four experimental conditions each had three phases, each with 20 blocks of 8 trials. The first phase and the last phase, respectively, required performance of the same task, position control compatible (PC), and velocity control incompatible (VI) for all four groups. The interpolated task in the second phase, requiring another 20 blocks, remained the same for group 1 (position compatible, PC), but was changed to position incompatible (PI) for group 2, to velocity compatible (VC) for group 3 and to velocity incompatible (VI) for group 4. RESULTS: The performance for mean Reaction Time (RT) and Movement Time (MT) significantly differed between males and females (p=0.0001). Male subjects had significantly faster RT (439 ms versus 565 ms) and MT (865 ms versus 1280 ms) than female subjects. CONCLUSION: Life style and some cultural factors might be important contributors to the gender differences because boys spend more time playing video games than girls in the USA. Therefore, male subjects may be more familiar with performing tasks that are similar to some video games, which commonly include the use of joystick. Keyword(s): gender issues, safety/injury prevention, worksite