Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27357955›Full record

SynthesisPsychonomic bulletin & review2017

Sex differences in visual-spatial working memory: A meta-analysis.

Daniel Voyer, Susan D Voyer, Jean Saint-Aubin

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Psychonomic bulletin & review, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 132 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
132citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
16.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

132 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 390 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. A Systematic Review and New Analyses of the Gender-Equality Paradox.Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science · 2025
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  8. Measurement bias for age, sex, and years of education in selected RDoC tasks.Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology · 2026
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72 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Daniel VoyerDepartment of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 5A3. voyer@unb.ca.
Susan D VoyerDepartment of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 5A3.
Jean Saint-AubinSchool of Psychology, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada.
University of New Brunswick · CAUniversité de Moncton · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

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.

Indexed as

Memory, Short-TermSex CharacteristicsSpatial LearningSpatial MemoryAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAptitudeChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung AdultHuman sex differencesMeta-analysisSpatial abilitiesVisual-spatial working memory

Identifiers

PMID27357955
OpenAlexW2470498081

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.