Gender Differences in the Rotation of City Maps

Abstract

This study assessed gender differences in city map rotation, and the differences between architecture, business studies, fine arts, and psychology undergraduates. Participants were given 90 pairs of maps positioned at different rotation angles (0°, 90°, and 180°). Participants were required to ascertain as quickly as possible whether rotating the map on its axis to the right (without lifting it up) aligned it with the model. In Test 1, no rotation was required because the angle was 0°, whereas in Tests 2 and 3 the angle of rotation was 90° or 180°, respectively. The number of correct rotations (correct choices minus errors) were calculated for women and men and for field of study. Men made more correct choices minus errors than women. Architecture undergraduates made more correct choices minus errors than other students. This study indicates that maps placed on physical elements located in streets or buildings should be positioned at 0° in relation to the surrounding environment. Additional studies are needed to analyze the causes underlying differences between women and men and differences in map rotation between undergraduates of other university degrees.

Mental imagery rotation and graph comprehension of IS‐LM macroeconomic models

“…The analysis of the influence of graph complexity (number of quadrants) on the number of correct responses showed the number of quadrants significantly influenced graph comprehension, that is, the simpler the graph, the fewer the errors. Similar results have been obtained by other authors in studies on graph comprehension (Kosslyn, 1994b;Shah et al, 1999), complex figure rotation (Cooper, 1975;Metzler & Shepard, 1974;Piccardi et al, 2011), and the comprehension of you-are-here maps (Campos & Campos-Juanatey, 2019c). Moreover, graph complexity (the number of quadrants in a graph) influenced the number of graph-comprehension errors, a result that agreed with other studies analyzing graph comprehension (Kosslyn, 1994b;Shah et al, 1999), complex figure rotation (Cooper, 1975;Metzler & Shepard, 1974;Piccardi et al, 2011), and the interpretation of you-are-here maps (Campos & Campos-Juanatey, 2019c).…”

“…For example, more errors were observed when squares or geometric figures were rotated 180 degrees than at 90 (Cooper, 1975;Metzler & Shepard, 1974;Piccardi et al, 2011). The understanding of you-are-here maps was faster with more correct comprehension responses and fewer errors in better oriented maps requiring fewer rotations (Campos & Campos-Juanatey, 2019c).…”

Do Gender, Discipline, and Mental Rotation Influence Orientation on “You-Are-Here” Maps

“…From mental rotation research, there is a broad consensus that men perform better than women (Campos & Campos-Juanatey, 2019a;Campos et al, 2004;Delgado & Prieto, 1996;Hedges & Nowell, 1995;Linn & Petersen, 1985, 1986Voyer, 2011;Voyer et al, 1995). Most authors agree on the underlying causes for these differences, with certain authors focusing on socialization factors (Campos, 2014;Oosthuizen, 1991), others on hormonal changes (Hooven et al, 2004;Kimura, 1999;Sanders et al, 2002), and other on different image rotation strategies used by women versus men (Linn & Petersen, 1985).…”

Mental imagery and anxiety toward death in adolescents

“…Mental images play a key role in all cognitive processing (Campos & Campos-Juanatey, 2019;P erez-Fabello & Campos, 2017;P erez-Fabello et al, 2018), and directly influence anxiety disorders (Hirsch & Holmes, 2007), particularly if mental images are conceived not only as visual images, but as auditory, gustative, olfactory, and tactile images, among others (Campos & Fuentes, 2016;Campos & P erez-Fabello, 2005). Mental images have a greater impact on anxiety disorders than verbal thoughts.…”