title: Sex differences in visual-spatial working memory: A meta-analysis.
abstract: Visual-spatial working memory measures are widely used in clinical and experimental settings. Furthermore, it has been argued that the male advantage in spatial abilities can be explained by a sex difference in visual-spatial working memory. Therefore, sex differences in visual-spatial working memory have important implication for research, theory, and practice, but they have yet to be quantified. The present meta-analysis quantified the magnitude of sex differences in visual-spatial working memory and examined variables that might moderate them. The analysis used a set of 180 effect sizes from healthy males and females drawn from 98 samples ranging in mean age from 3 to 86 years. Multilevel meta-analysis was used on the overall data set to account for non-independent effect sizes. The data also were analyzed in separate task subgroups by means of multilevel and mixed-effects models. Results showed a small but significant male advantage (mean d = 0.155, 95 % confidence interval = 0.087-0.223). All the tasks produced a male advantage, except for memory for location, where a female advantage emerged. Age of the participants was a significant moderator, indicating that sex differences in visual-spatial working memory appeared first in the 13-17 years age group. Removing memory for location tasks from the sample affected the pattern of significant moderators. The present results indicate a male advantage in visual-spatial working memory, although age and specific task modulate the magnitude and direction of the effects. Implications for clinical applications, cognitive model building, and experimental research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 5A3. voyer@unb.ca.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Voyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 5A3.
authors.forename: Susan D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Voyer
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saint-Aubin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001076:Aptitude; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D065853:Spatial Learning; D065852:Spatial Memory; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Human sex differences; Meta-analysis; Spatial abilities; Visual-spatial working memory