§ Abstract
The interplay between maintenance and transformation processes in visuospatial cognition remains poorly understood despite its fundamental role in human cognition. We examined how visual working memory for orientation information relates to mental rotation efficiency, and whether imagery vividness moderates this relationship. In a sample of 155 participants, we measured orientation-selective visual working memory across varying set sizes and delays, mental rotation performance across angular disparities (0◦-150◦), and self-reported imagery vividness. Results revealed modest correlations between visual working memory sensitivity and mental rotation performance, suggesting these processes maintain partial independence despite conceptual overlap. Task complexity did not significantly modulate the strength of these relationships as initially predicted. Imagery vividness correlated with overall visual working memory performance but did not moderate the effects of either set size or angular disparity, indicating that individuals with different imagery abilities may employ distinct strategic approaches to visuospatial processing. These findings illuminate the cognitive architecture underlying complex spatial cognition, demonstrating that resource allocation during visuospatial processing involves both shared mechanisms and process-specific components. This work provides insights for developing targeted interventions to enhance visuospatial skills in educational and clinical contexts, particularly for populations that exhibit specific deficits in spatial cognition.