The female advantage in object location memory is robust to verbalizability and mode of presentation of test stimuli

Abstract

This study extends Duff and Hampson’s [Duff, S., & Hampson, E. (2001). A sex difference on a novel spatial working memory task in humans. Brain and Cognition,47, 470–493] finding of a sex-related difference in favor of females for an object location memory task. Twenty female and 20 male undergraduate students performed both manual and computer-generated versions of the task using stimuli that varied in degree of verbalizability. A 2×2×3 ANOVA with Sex as a between-subjects factor, and Presentation (manual or computer) and Stimuli (common objects, common shapes, and novel shapes) as within-subjects repeated measures revealed a significant main effect for Sex. Females made fewer errors than males regardless of presentation and across the three levels of verbalizability (i.e., stimulus types); moreover, the effect size was considered “large” [Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Berlin: Springer]. These findings are interpreted within the context of the current literature that demonstrates a female advantage for object location memory (e.g., [Voyer, D., Postma, A., Brake, B., & Imperato-McGinley, J. (2007). Gender differences in object location memory: A meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 14, 23–38]).