Citation 9—“Mental Rotation”
Citation 9 -- “Mental Rotation”
2. Goal of article: State the research questions and/or hypotheses being investigated (What are they trying to do?) (Four sentences to one paragraph)
The researcher in this study wants to determine whether performance factors are responsible for the gender differences in mental rotation tests. The researcher wants to
specifically determine whether the scoring procedure and the time allowed to attempt
each item on the test affects the scores attained by men and women.
3. List three (3) cognitive psychology terms important for the topic of the article, find their definitions or descriptions in any CogPsy textbook (give reference) and provide them here:
1. Hypothesis: A provisional testable explanation of the relationship between two or more variables or events. It is stated as a prediction that a certain outcome will result when certain conditions are met.
2. Aptitude: The ability to learn or develop proficiency in a certain area
.
3. Mental rotation tests: Tests designed to test an individual’s ability to rotate something
in the head.
4. Describe ALL the dependent variables for the designated experiment:
- Provide an operational definition
Raw scores: The total number of correct stimuli.
Stringent scores: Number of correct items.
Corrected Scores: The number of correct stimuli minus the number of incorrect stimuli
Points
5. Describe ALL the independent variables for the designated experiment:
Time
- List its levels
Level 1: Limited time of 3 minutes.
Level 2: Unlimited time
Chi-square
Two-way analysis of variance
One-tailed independent t-test
- If there are more than one independent variable, state the factorial design
12 (One by two factorial design). One independent variables with two levels.
6. Describe how the experiment was conducted, i.e., what was the procedure: (4-6 sentences)
The subjects were randomly selected and assigned either the limited time condition or the unlimited time condition. Each constraint was assigned an equal number of men and women (35 for each gender). Subjects in the short time condition were allowed 3 minutes for each of the two parts of the test. In the unlimited time condition, subjects were allowed as much time as they needed to completely answer all the questions in each part of the test. Three scoring procedures (raw scoring, stringent scoring and corrected scoring) were then used to indicate the scores attained by each group.
7. Identify all the main effects and interactions (if the design is factorial). Make sure you state the main effect for EACH independent variable you named in (5):
- Provide the statistical statement (t- or F-statement)
For stimuli attempted men had (M=30.4) and women had (M=26.8) [t(68)=1.92, p < 0.5]
For the ratio scores, men had (M=.80) while women had (M=.72) [t(68)=2.47, p < 0.02]
- Explain each statement in plain English
In the first statement, men women attempted fewer stimuli than men.
In the second statement, men performed significantly better than women in the ratio scores.
8. Steps or conclusions suggested by the article (One paragraph):
a. How is each research question listed in (4) answered?
The results of the study show that the gender differences in mental rotation tests do not decrease when the time limit is eliminated. This contradicts an earlier study done by Goldstein et al in 1990, which showed that the gender differences in spatial tests decrease when the time limit is eliminated. Again, the gender differences in mental rotation tests do not decrease when different scoring procedures are used. In each of the three scoring procedures used by the researcher, men scored significantly higher than women.
b. What do the data mean?
The data obtained from this study shows that performance factors such as time limit and the scoring procedure used do not have an influence on the gender differences observed in spatial tests. This is consistent with previous studies, which had presented similar results. Therefore, the use of raw scoring procedure and the use of a time constraint for each test item do not disadvantage women performing mental rotation tests.
9. Create a short set of instructions using mental rotation techniques to help a friend trying to improve an athletic skill like shooting baskets or serving in tennis (or anything else you can think of). (One-two paragraphs).
Complete the following simple test. Take 30 seconds to figure out an arrow pointing to the left side. Make a drawing of that arrow on a blank piece of paper. Take one minute to rotate the arrow through 1800 inside your mind. Make a second drawing of what the arrow would look like after rotating it. Take one minute to rotate the arrow though 900 inside your mind. Make a third drawing of what the arrow would look like now. After rotating the arrow through 180 0, it should be facing the right side. If that is what is in your drawing, you’re correct. In the third attempt, the arrow should be facing upwards (if you rotated it in a clockwise manner). If that’s what is in your drawing, then you are correct. This simple spatial exercise helps to train the mind to concentrate and make a mental rotation of objects. It would be in assisting you to shoot baskets with accuracy.
- Describe an everyday task that might depend on the same ability to mentally manipulate images that you used to do this experiment.(One-two paragraphs).
A compelling example which illustrates the use of mental rotation in everyday activity is the use of maps. In most of the cases, people hold maps according to the direction they are moving. This means that they have to rotate the map so that it can match the direction of travel. However, sometimes, the individual may end up turning the map upside down in an effort to match the direction of travel. Two activities take place during this period: the first activity is an attempt to bring the map to track-up alignment and the second activity is the subsequent attempt to bring the image of the map in congruence with the forward view. These processes involve subsequent cognitive operations, which are at the centre of the mental rotation. The ability to imagine self as a moving body in space with the use of maps as the points of reference confirms that mental rotation are inevitable in every-day life.
References
American Psychological Association . (2013). Glossary of psychological terms . Retrieved
November 5, 2013, from Apa.org: http://www.apa.org/research/action/glossary.aspx#m
Masters, M. S. (1998). The gender differences in mental rotation tests is not due to performance
factors. Memory & Cognition , 26 (3), 444-448.
Sis.pitt.edu. (2013). Mental Rotation Test. Retrieved November 5, 2013, from Sis.pitt.edu:
http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~is1042/html/mentrot.html
Ucdavis.edu. (2013). Standardized tests: Mental ability. Retrieved November 5, 2013, from
ucdavis.edu: http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/sommerb/sommerdemo/stantests/mental.htm
