How are visuospatial working memory, executive functioning, and spatial abilities related? A latent-variable analysis

This study examined the relationships among visuospatial working memory (WM ) executive functioning, and spatial abilities. One hundred sixty-seven par ticipants performed visuospatial short-term memory (STM) and WM span tasks, executive functioning tasks, and a set of paper-and-pencil tests of spatia l abilities that load on 3 correlated but distinguishable factors (Spatial Visualization, Spatial Relations, and Perceptual Speed). Confirmatory facto r analysis results indicated that, in the visuospatial domain, processing-a nd-storage WM tasks and storage-oriented STM tasks equally implicate execut ive functioning and are not clearly distinguishable. These results provide a contrast with existing evidence from the verbal domain and support the pr oposal that the visuospatial sketchpad may be closely tied to the central e xecutive. Further, structural equation modeling results supported the predi ction that, whereas they all implicate some degree of visuospatial storage, the 3 spatial ability factors differ in the degree of executive involvemen t (highest for Spatial Visualization and lowest for Perceptual Speed). Such results highlight the usefulness of a WM perspective in characterizing the nature of cognitive abilities and, more generally, human intelligence.