Professional Differences: A Comparative Study of Visualization Task Performance and Spatial Ability Across Disciplines

Abstract

Fig. 1. We conducted a spatial abilities study across three professional populations. After screening, demographics, and a standardized set of spatial reasoning tasks, participants carried out three task blocks in counterbalanced order, followed by feedback on their problem-solving strategies.

Measuring Effects of Spatial Visualization and Domain On Visualization Task Performance: A Comparative Study

“…The results we collected add to evidence that spatial visualization and domain interact to affect visual task performance and should be considered as combined factors that can influence design choices; visualization design should consider not only the needs of varying domains, but the abilities of individuals in those domains [43]. This paper contributes toward cataloguing visualization performance differences amongst spatial visualization levels and domains that can lead to empowering individuals across disciplines to make memorable references and inferences effectively and efficiently using visualizations designed for them.…”

“…Education psychology has explored the connections between education background, performance, and the cognitive ability of spatial visualization, noting these are not easily separated in individuals [9,91]. Recently, work has been done in visualization toward integrating these tracks of research to move away from universal guidelines for the monolithic "user" and towards effective design that considers the differing cognitive traits of target disciplines [43].…”

Professional Differences: A Comparative Study of Visualization Task Performance and Spatial Ability Across Disciplines

“…Our study provides a first foray into this space, opening new avenues to better understanding the "user" in problemdriven visualization. Our data and code are available on OSF [29] to support and inspire future studies.…”

“…The structure and setup of the study are detailed below; see Supplementary Material (SM) for snapshots of the study system. Our study code (stimulus generation, system, and analysis) and data are available on OSF [29].…”

“…The Camera-Controls library [1] was used to provide click-and-drag functionality for rotating the 3D plots. Our system code is available on GitHub [4] and via OSF [29].…”