Abstract
It has been hypothesized that gender differences in visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) are larger in tasks requiring active elaboration of the material. In the present study we explored this issue by using an object relocation task, with both verbal and visual stimuli. The involvement of active processes was manipulated through the type of transformation required on the stimulus and through the introduction of different kinds of interference. In the three experiments reported, participants were shown either words or cartoon object icons in different locations and had to relocate them in either the same format or in the opposite one (object icons could be transformed into words and vice versa). Males outperformed females in the most demanding conditions, in which object icons and words were presented together in the encoding phase, and both had to be transformed in the recall phase; or when more demanding interferences were used. Our data suggest that the retention strategy was similar for the two groups and that the gender effect is related to a selective female difficulty associated with the increase in active VSWM processing. These findings further support the hypothesized distinction between the passive and active components of VSWM and illustrate the role that this distinction might play in accounting for individual differences.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 904-919 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2006 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physiology
- Physiology (medical)
- Psychology(all)
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Cite this
Gender differences in memory for object and word locations. / Cattaneo, Zaira; Postma, Albert; Vecchi, Tomaso.
In: Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol. 59, No. 5, 05.2006, p. 904-919.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Gender differences in memory for object and word locations
AU - Cattaneo, Zaira
AU - Postma, Albert
AU - Vecchi, Tomaso
PY - 2006/5
Y1 - 2006/5
N2 - It has been hypothesized that gender differences in visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) are larger in tasks requiring active elaboration of the material. In the present study we explored this issue by using an object relocation task, with both verbal and visual stimuli. The involvement of active processes was manipulated through the type of transformation required on the stimulus and through the introduction of different kinds of interference. In the three experiments reported, participants were shown either words or cartoon object icons in different locations and had to relocate them in either the same format or in the opposite one (object icons could be transformed into words and vice versa). Males outperformed females in the most demanding conditions, in which object icons and words were presented together in the encoding phase, and both had to be transformed in the recall phase; or when more demanding interferences were used. Our data suggest that the retention strategy was similar for the two groups and that the gender effect is related to a selective female difficulty associated with the increase in active VSWM processing. These findings further support the hypothesized distinction between the passive and active components of VSWM and illustrate the role that this distinction might play in accounting for individual differences.
AB - It has been hypothesized that gender differences in visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) are larger in tasks requiring active elaboration of the material. In the present study we explored this issue by using an object relocation task, with both verbal and visual stimuli. The involvement of active processes was manipulated through the type of transformation required on the stimulus and through the introduction of different kinds of interference. In the three experiments reported, participants were shown either words or cartoon object icons in different locations and had to relocate them in either the same format or in the opposite one (object icons could be transformed into words and vice versa). Males outperformed females in the most demanding conditions, in which object icons and words were presented together in the encoding phase, and both had to be transformed in the recall phase; or when more demanding interferences were used. Our data suggest that the retention strategy was similar for the two groups and that the gender effect is related to a selective female difficulty associated with the increase in active VSWM processing. These findings further support the hypothesized distinction between the passive and active components of VSWM and illustrate the role that this distinction might play in accounting for individual differences.
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U2 - 10.1080/02724980543000079
DO - 10.1080/02724980543000079
M3 - Article
C2 - 16608754
AN - SCOPUS:33646365922
VL - 59
SP - 904
EP - 919
JO - Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
JF - Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
SN - 1747-0218
IS - 5
ER -