A range of characteristics of learners is described and their relationship to working memory discussed in the context of teaching and learning in the sciences. The characteristics are extent of field dependency, visual spatial abilities, divergency and convergency. These learner characteristics were measured for a large sample of school pupils aged about 13 along with the working memory capacity of the pupils. The relationships between all these measures are discussed and also related to performance in science in national examinations. Most of the work is set in Kuwait, with some data from Saudi Arabia. It is found that working memory capacity correlates highly significantly with all the learner characteristics and this is interpreted in terms of the way information is processed in the brain. Some implications for learning in the sciences are discussed. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)