Sex differences on the WMS-III: findings concerning verbal paired associates and faces

Previous research suggests that women have better verbal learning than men, whereas there is little evidence of sex differences in nonverbal learning. The present study examined whether sex differences occur on subtests from the Wechsler Memory Scale-III (Wechsler, 1997). Verbal Paired Associates I & II (VPA) and Faces I & II were administered to 26 male and 26 female undergraduates. A measure of visual-spatial perception, the Judgment of Line Orientation Test, (JLO) was also administered. This was done to place the study within the context of an established literature concerning sex differences in cognition. To rule out potential confounds due to intelligence, WAIS-R FSIQs were estimated and used as covariates in statistical analyses. Women outperformed men on several VPA indices, with men scoring at the 25th percentile and women scoring at the 50th percentile. Although no differences were observed on Faces I & II, men outperformed women on JLO. Implications and recommendations concerning the clinical use of VPA are discussed.