Training spatial abilities: Effects of practice on rotation and synthesis tasks

Lohman, David F.; Nichols, Paul D.

doi:10.1016/1041-6080(90)90017-b

Cited by 64 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…If spatial experience mediates spatial ability, then training on spatial tasks should improve performance. Indeed, extensive training improves mental rotation performance and attenuates the sex difference (Feng et al, 2007;Lizarraga & Ganuza, 2003), but gains in performance on trained stimuli typically do not generalize to untrained stimuli (Kail & Park, 1990;Lohman & Nichols, 1990;Sims & Mayer, 2002). Thus, the improvement in performance may be attributable to stimulus familiarity rather than task experience (BethelFox & Shepard, 1988;Sims & Mayer, 2002; see also Kail et al, 1979).…”

Section: Other Potential Mediatorsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Confidence Mediates the Sex Difference in Mental Rotation Performance

Estes

Felker

2011

Arch Sex Behav

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On tasks that require the mental rotation of 3-dimensional figures, males typically exhibit higher accuracy than females. Using the most common measure of mental rotation (i.e., the Mental Rotations Test), we investigated whether individual variability in confidence mediates this sex difference in mental rotation performance. In each of four experiments, the sex difference was reliably elicited and eliminated by controlling or manipulating participants' confidence. Specifically, confidence predicted performance within and between sexes (Experiment 1), rendering confidence irrelevant to the task reliably eliminated the sex difference in performance (Experiments 2 and 3), and manipulating confidence significantly affected performance (Experiment 4). Thus, confidence mediates the sex difference in mental rotation performance and hence the sex difference appears to be a difference of performance rather than ability. Results are discussed in relation to other potential mediators and mechanisms, such as gender roles, sex stereotypes, spatial experience, rotation strategies, working memory, and spatial attention.

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Section: Other Potential Mediatorsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Confidence Mediates the Sex Difference in Mental Rotation Performance

Estes

Felker

2011

Arch Sex Behav

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“…General practice effects have been found in both verbal (e.g., anagram solving, Gavurin, 1973) and visuospatial (e.g., mental rotation, Lohman & Nichols, 1990) tasks, as well as on subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (Theisen, Rapport, Axelrod, & Brines, 1998), at least for young adults. Indeed, an earlier study on learning to learn (Postman, 1969) confirmed that young adults virtually always show rapid improvement on tasks, no matter how novel, and training or practice under conditions similar to those of a later task facilitates development of task-specific skills.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age differences in visuospatial working memory.

Rowe¹,

Hasher²,

Turcotte³

2008

Psychology and Aging

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In two visuospatial working memory (VSWM) span experiments, older and young participants were tested under conditions of either high or low interference, using two different displays: computerized versions of a 3 ϫ 3 matrix or the standard (randomly arrayed) Corsi block task (P. M. Corsi, 1972). Older adults' VSWM estimates were increased in the low-interference, compared with the high-interference, condition, replicating findings with verbal memory span studies. Young adults showed the opposite pattern, and together the findings suggest that typical VSWM span tasks include opposing components (interference and practice) that differentially affect young and older adults.

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“…Second, Kyllonen and Christal provided feedback after each task and each section of the test, while other studies did not give feedback to participants during testing. As there is evidence that feedback contributes to a decrease errors in performing spatial tasks (Lohmann & Nichols, 1990), researchers must consider how feedback affects measurement and whether feedback should be a part of the assessment of WM in future studies.…”

Section: Other Wm Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Working memory, fluid intelligence, and science learning

Yuan

Steedle

Shavelson

et al. 2006

Educational Research Review

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A review of the history of working memory (WM) studies finds that the concept of WM evolved from short-term memory to a multi-component system. Comparison between contemporary WM models reveals: (1) consensus that the content of WM includes not only task-relevant information, but also task-irrelevant information; (2) consensus that WM consists of phonological and visuospatial components; (3) consensus that short-term memory storage is a function of WM; (4) disagreement as to whether an independent executive control is a necessary WM component; and (5) disagreement as to whether the control function is active or passive. Methods for measuring WM differed across studies with a preponderance of various dual-tasks; little psychometric work has been done on these measures. Correlational studies supported a close relationship between WM and measures of fluid intelligence and science achievement, but we found no experimental studies on the impact of WM training on science achievement. Finally we suggest how WM research findings may be applied to improve fluid intelligence and science achievement.

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Training spatial abilities: Effects of practice on rotation and synthesis tasks

Cited by 64 publications

References 22 publications

Confidence Mediates the Sex Difference in Mental Rotation Performance

Confidence Mediates the Sex Difference in Mental Rotation Performance

Age differences in visuospatial working memory.

Working memory, fluid intelligence, and science learning

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