The impact of a working-memory load on analogical mapping was examined in t
wo experiments, using a dual-task paradigm. In Experiment 1, we used a phon
ological working-memory load; in Experiment 2, we used a phonological worki
ng-memory load and an executive working-memory load. The subjects were requ
ired to identify correspondences between visual scenes, either for single o
bjects or for three objects simultaneously. The results indicated that the
imposition of either a phonological or an executive working-memory load dec
reased the frequency with which the subjects identified correspondences bet
ween scenes based on relations and increased the frequency with which they
identified correspondences based on object attributes. The frequency with w
hich subjects made relational mappings was increased by the instruction to
find correspondences for multiple objects in a scene simultaneously, rather
than for just one. These results indicate that mapping on the basis of rel
ations places greater demands on both modality-specific buffers and executi
ve components of working memory than does mapping on the basis of object at
tributes.