Sex differences in verbal working memory: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human Behavior

Background:

• Verbal working memory is crucial for cognitive functions.
• Understanding sex differences in cognitive abilities is essential for theory building and clinical applications.
• Previous research on sex differences in verbal working memory has yielded inconsistent results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify overall sex differences in verbal working memory.
• To investigate task-specific sex differences in verbal working memory.
• To identify moderators influencing these sex differences.

Main Methods:

• A multilevel meta-analysis of 802 effect sizes from 478 samples across 284 studies.
• Categorization of tasks into cued, free recall, complex span, serial recall, and simple span.
• Examination of potential moderators including recall direction, stimulus type, presentation format, response format, and age.

Main Results:

• A small overall female advantage in verbal working memory (g = .028).
• Significant female advantages in cued recall (g = .079) and free recall (g = .145).
• A male advantage in complex span tasks (g = -.042), with no significant differences in serial or simple span tasks.

Conclusions:

• Sex differences in verbal working memory are task-dependent.
• Factors like recall direction, stimulus characteristics, and age significantly moderate these differences.
• Findings contribute to understanding sex differences in episodic memory and have implications for clinical practice.