The argument for a female advantage in word list learning is often based on partial observations that focus on a single component of the task. Using a large sample (N = 4403) of individuals 13-97 years of age from the general population, we investigated whether this advantage is consistently reflected in learning, recall, and recognition and how other cognitive abilities differentially support word list learning. A robust female advantage was found in all subcomponents of the task. Semantic clustering mediated the effects of short-term and working memory on long-delayed recall and recognition, and serial clustering on short-delayed recall. These indirect effects were moderated by sex, with men benefiting more from reliance on each clustering strategy than women. Auditory attention span mediated the effect of pattern separation on true positives in word recognition, and this effect was stronger in men than in women. Men had better short-term and working memory scores, but lower auditory attention span and were more vulnerable to interference both in delayed recall and recognition. Thus, our data suggest that auditory attention span and interference control (inhibition), rather than short-term or working memory scores, semantic and/or serial clustering on their own, underlie better performance on word list learning in women.
Keywords: Cognitive sex differences; HUNT; auditory attention span; pattern separation; semantic clustering; working memory.