The goal of the present study was to quantify the magnitude of gender differences in object location memory tasks. A total of 123 effect sizes (d) drawn from 36 studies were included in a meta-analysis using a hierarchical approach. Object identity memory (37 effect sizes) and object location memory (86 effect sizes) tasks were analyzed separately. Object identity memory task showed significant gender differences that were homogeneous and in favor of women. For the object location memory tasks, effect sizes had to be partitioned by age (younger than 13, between 13 and 18, older than 18), object type (common, uncommon, gender neutral, geometric, masculine, feminine), scoring method (accuracy, time, distance), and type of measure (recall, recognition) to achieve homogeneity. Significant gender differences in favor of females were obtained in all clusters above the age of 13, with the exception of feminine, uncommon, and gender-neutral objects. Masculine objects and measures of distance produced significant effects in favor of males. Implications of these results for future work and for theoretical interpretations are discussed.

The present study aimed at validating a computerized mental rotation task developed for use in functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies. Eighty-three females and 74 males completed the computerized task, two pencil-and-paper tests of mental rotation, and reported their high school grades in mathematics, English, and history. The computerized task involved the presentation of pairs of three-dimensional stimuli that differed in orientation by 0, 40, 80, 120, or 160 degrees. Results showed significant gender differences in favor of males in the three main tasks, although gender interacted with angle of rotation in the computerized task. Evidence for concurrent validity was obtained in the form of significant correlations between performance on tasks relevant to mental rotation (paper and pencil tests and mathematics grades), whereas discriminant validity was demonstrated by a lack of correlation with tasks deemed irrelevant to mental rotation (English and history grades). These findings support the use of our computerized mental rotation task as a valid measure of mental rotation abilities in fMRI studies.

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