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Nazareth, Alina. "Factors Affecting Adult Mental Rotation Performance." FIU Digital Commons, 2015. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2185.
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Research on mental rotation has consistently found sex differences, with males outperforming females on mental rotation tasks like the Vandenberg and Kuse (1978) mental rotation test (MRT; D. Voyer, Voyer, & Bryden, 1995). Mental rotation ability has been found to be enhanced with experience (Nazareth, Herrera & Pruden, 2013) and training (Wright, Thompson, Ganis, Newcombe, & Kosslyn, 2008) and the effects of training have been found to be transferable to other spatial tasks (Wright et al., 2008) and sustainable for months (Terlecki, Newcombe, & Little, 2008). Although, we now are fairly certain about the malleability of spatial tasks and the role of spatial activity experience, we seem to have undervalued an important piece of the puzzle. What is the mechanism by which experiential factors enhance mental rotation performance? In other words, what is it that develops in an individual as a consequence of experience? The current dissertation sought to address this gap in the literature by examining cognitive strategy selection as a possible mechanism by which experiential factors like early spatial activity experience enhance mental rotation performance. A total of 387 adult university students were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions. The three experimental conditions differed in the amount and type of non-spatial information present in the task stimuli. Participant eye movement was recorded using a Tobii X60 eye tracker. Study I investigated the different types of cognitive strategies selected during mental rotation, where eye movement patterns were used as indicators of the underlying cognitive strategies. A latent profile analysis revealed two distinct eye movement patterns significantly predicting mental rotation performance. Study II examined the role of early spatial activity experience in mental rotation performance. Male sex-typed spatial activities were found to significantly mediate the relation between participant sex and mental rotation performance. Finally, Study III examined the developmental role of early spatial activity experience in cognitive strategy selection and strategy flexibility to enhance mental rotation performance. Strategy flexibility was found to be significantly associated with mental rotation performance. Male sex-typed spatial activity experiences were found to be significantly associated with cognitive strategy selection but not strategy flexibility. Implications for spatial training and educational pedagogy in the STEM fields are discussed.
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Collins, David Wesley. "Difficulty and dimensionality in mental rotation." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ28553.pdf.
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Johnson, Nathan. "Interrupting mental rotation : what we know when /." Electronic version (PDF), 2003. http://dl.uncw.edu/etd/2003/johnsonn/natejohnson.pdf.
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Goodwin, Julia Elizabeth. "Processes involved in mental rotation : a developmental perspective." Thesis, Birkbeck (University of London), 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.309220.
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Selkowitz, Anthony R. "Mental rotation and a drawing based training regiment." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2008. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/1139.
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This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.Bachelors
Sciences
Psychology
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Stevens, Sally Joan. "Children's competencies with mental rotation: A multicomponent strategy." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/184411.
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The search for evidence of cognitive abilities in young children that have been previously detected only in the performance of older children and adults has been a target of study by many cognitive developmental psychologists. Early competency views suggest that aspects of cognitive fundamentals are present very early in life and are in some aspects developmentally invariant. Often, the focus of research is on the delineation of the constraints which direct and restrict deployment of early intellectual abilities to illuminate the regularities and patterns in observed developmental change. The purpose of this research was to examine children's proficiency with mental rotation tasks that involved the reorientation of complex multi-component stimuli. Specifically, the existence of stimulus effect and determination of which stimulus components prove problematic under taxing performance conditions was investigated. Sixteen students, eight first graders and eight third graders, participated in a two-choice discrimination task. Each student was assessed individually on 360 test trials in eight 20-minute sessions. Three test conditions included (1) perception, (2) memory, and (3) rotation. Two multi-component stimuli were used in which the experimenter-defined components included (A) an external protrusion on the edge of a circle, and (B) an internal axis system within the interior of the circle. The two stimuli varied in the placement of the internal axes which was either orthogonally or obliquely orientated. Test items in the memory and the rotation conditions included stimuli orthogonally oriented (90°, 180°, 270°) obliquely oriented (45°, 135°, 225°, 315°). Error scores were analyzed in a four-way analysis of variance. A main effect for foil type was found significant with axis foils being more difficult than protrusion foils. Furthermore, a significant four-way interaction effect was detected indicating that as stimulus characteristics and task demands increased in difficulty, performance declined particularly for the younger age group.
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McCarthy, Ann L. "Improving Older Adults' Mental Rotation Skills through Computer Training." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1281292991.
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Bell, James Frederick. "Effects of Mild to Moderate Stress on Mental Rotation." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1616.
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Mental rotation (MR) is the ability to mentally shift one's visual perspective of any object by changing the orientation of a mental image of that object. Research into the effects of stress on MR could be used to help improve understanding of a variety of visual-spatial tasks performed in hyper-vigilance situations. However, until the present study, there has been no research on the effects of stress on MR. The Yerkes-Dodson Law predicts performance will be improved when an individual is exposed to mild to moderate stress. The purpose of this study was to answer three research questions. The questions examined whether stress affects MR performance; if MR performance is improved by stress, impaired, or unchanged; and, if the effect of stress is related to the degree of MR task difficulty. Twenty healthy adult participants, aged 18 to 65, were recruited from the Savannah, Georgia area. The participants were divided into 2 groups of 10: stress and no-stress groups. The stress group was exposed to a math task under time pressure. The no-stress group was given a simple counting task to do at their own pace. Heart rate during testing was measured for both groups. "L-shaped" objects of varying angular orientation were presented on a computer screen immediately following the counting tasks. Participants choose whether the pair of objects were different mirror images of the other, or the same object, only rotated differently. A 2 x2 mixed repeated measures ANOVA indicated significant differences in heart rate between groups following exposure to the counting tasks. A 2-sample t test showed no significant differences between groups for MR performance. Social change implications include more efficient use of employee training in mild- to moderately- stressful jobs that require MR skills.
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Efremova, Natalia. "A hierarchical neural network model of object recognition and mental rotation." 京都大学 (Kyoto University), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/157471.
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El, Hoyek Nady. "Rotation mentale et motricité : approche développementale, genre et transfert." Thesis, Lyon 1, 2009. http://www.theses.fr/2009LYO10147.
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La rotation mentale (RM) est la capacité à faire tourner mentalement l’image d’un objet en 2 ou en 3 dimensions. C’est une forme d’imagerie mentale qui nécessite des transformations visuo-spatiales. Au regard de sa nature dynamique, la RM se trouve à l’interface entre imagerie mentale et imagerie motrice. Le transfert de RM, ainsi que ses liens avec les processus moteurs, restent à ce jour controversés. Les résultats de ce travail montrent qu’un entraînement spécifique à la RM améliore la performance aux tests de RM, tel que celui de Vandenberg et Kuse (VMRT). Suite à cet entraînement, les différences de genre sont atténuées. Un transfert vers l’apprentissage de l’anatomie a également été observé, attestant de l’existence de micro-compétences, ou micro-expertises, communes entre RM et apprentissage de l’anatomie. Les résultats montrent que ce transfert s’opère aussi dans l’autre sens, de l’apprentissage de l’anatomie vers la perception spatiale d’un mouvement sportif. Dans le même ordre d’idée, chez les enfants, la RM partagerait des micro-expertises avec la motricité lorsque celle-ci intègre des roulades, des changements de directions ou des sauts. L’ensemble des résultats expérimentaux met en évidence qu’un programme d’entraînement spécifique visant l’amélioration de la capacité de RM peut donc se transférer vers l’acquisition de connaissances en anatomie, la motricité, ainsi que le développement moteur de l’enfant. L’émergence de la différence de genre en RM et en imagerie motrice, quant à elle, varie selon les tests utilisés. Pour le VMRT, elle serait effective à partir de l’âge de 9 ans. De nouvelles recherches sur la chronométrie mentale permettront sans doute de déterminer l’émergence de cette différence de genre au regard de la précision de l’imagerie motriceMental rotation (MR) is the ability to rotate the mental image of a 2D or 3D object. The relationship between MR and motor processes, as well as the transfer of MR, is still debated in the literature. The present results provided evidence that a specific MR training might contribute to enhance the MR ability, and the performance on the MR tests such as the Vandenberg and Kuse MR test (VMRT). Interestingly, gender differences were attenuated following training. A transfer was further observed on human anatomy learning. MR training and human anatomy learning are therefore hypothesized to share similar micro-competences. Our results also showed a transfer from anatomy learning to the spatial perception of a motor skill. Finally, MR has been found to share some micro-competences with motor performance requiring performing a forward roll, changing of directions and jumping. Hence, MR would be useful for the motor performance itself. Altogether, our results provided evidence that a specific MR training can be transferred to the human anatomy learning process, motor performance, as well as to child motor development. While the emergence of gender differences in MR might depend on the test used, such difference would be effective at 9 years of age for the VMRT. So far, future research remains necessary to determine in greater details the emergence of motor imagery accuracy in regards to its temporal aspects
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Oehlert, Jeremy. "Mental Image Manipulation and Math: An Investigation into the Influence of Visualization and Mental Rotation on Math Performance." Cleveland, Ohio : Case Western Reserve University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1252445650.
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Thesis(M.A.)--Case Western Reserve University, 2010Title from PDF (viewed on 2010-01-28) Department of Psychology Includes abstract Includes bibliographical references and appendices Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center
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Bruzadin, Nunes Ugo. "Mental Imagery and Tracking." OpenSIUC, 2018. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/2471.
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This study aimed to better understand visuomotor tracking and spatial visual imagery. 101 Participants performed four tasks: A Manual Tracking Task (MTT), in which participants mouse-tracked the path of a circle, sometimes with occlusion. A Multi-Object Tracking task (MOT), in which participants tracked several objects simultaneously. The Sussex Cognitive Styles Questionnaire (SCSQ), in which participants self-reported their experience with imagery. A Mental Rotation Task (MRT) in which participants mentally rotate Tetris-like objects. The results demonstrated a significant correlation between the technical/spatial subscale of the SCSQ and the occluded MTT, the MRT, the MOT but not the visible MTT. A multiple regression showed that occluded MTT and the MRT together significantly predicted the spatial/technical subscale of the SCSQ above visible MTT and MOT. These findings support the claim that the cognitive resources behind mental imagery may also be recruited during other tasks that arguably draw on the need for internal visualization.
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Fatolitis, Philip. "Initial Validation of Novel Performance-Based Measures: Mental Rotation and Psychomotor Ability." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2008. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/6223.
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Given the high-risk nature of military flight operations and the significant resources required to train U.S. Naval Aviation personnel, continual improvement is required in the selection process. In addition to general commissioning requirements and aeromedical standards, the U.S. Navy utilizes the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) to select commissioned aviation students. Although the ASTB has been a good predictor of aviation student performance in training, it was proposed that incremental improvement could be gained with the introduction of novel, computer administered performance-based measures: Block Rotation (BRT) and a Navy-developed Compensatory Tracking task. This work constituted an initial validation of the BRT, an interactive virtual analog of Shepard-Metzler's (1971) Mental Rotation task that was developed with the intention of quantifying mental rotation and psychomotor ability. For Compensatory Tracking, this work sought to determine if data gathered concord with results in extant literature, confirming the validity of the task. Data from the BRT were examined to determine task reliability and to formulate relevant quantitative/predictive performance human models. Results showed that the BRT performance is a valid spatial ability predictor whose output can be modeled, and that Compensatory Tracking task data concord with the psychometric properties of tracking tasks that have been previously presented in the literature.Ph.D.
Doctorate
Psychology
Sciences
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Constantinescu, Mihaela Vasile. "Hormonal and parental contributions to infants' mental rotation abilities and toy preferences." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.708163.
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Liesefeld, Heinrich René [Verfasser], and Hubert D. [Akademischer Betreuer] Zimmer. "The mental representation in mental rotation : its content, timing, and neuronal source / Heinrich René Liesefeld. Betreuer: Hubert D. Zimmer." Saarbrücken : Saarländische Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, 2012. http://d-nb.info/1052550819/34.
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Liesefeld, Heinrich R. [Verfasser], and Hubert D. [Akademischer Betreuer] Zimmer. "The mental representation in mental rotation : its content, timing, and neuronal source / Heinrich René Liesefeld. Betreuer: Hubert D. Zimmer." Saarbrücken : Saarländische Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, 2012. http://d-nb.info/1052550819/34.
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Daly, Paul K. "Mental rotation with and without a concurrent task : moderating effects of visuospatial ability /." Thesis, This resource online, 1994. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12042009-020243/.
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Macramalla, Steven. "Effect of load and landmark distance on mental rotation of self and external objects /." Diss., Digital Dissertations Database. Restricted to UC campuses, 2006. http://uclibs.org/PID/11984.
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Grady, Cheryl U. "The effect of figural information on solution strategy and performance in mental rotation tasks /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1998. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09SPS/09spsg733.pdf.
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Yagmur-Kilimci, Elif Sezen. "3D mental visualization in architectural design." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/37132.
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Many architects report about mentally visualizing 3D aspects of their design ideas while simply working with 2D sketches of them. Indeed, in architecture, the general practice of conveying 3D building information by means of 2D drawings bears on the assumptions that every architect can mentally visualize a building in 3D by looking at its 2D drawings or sketches and that architects, as many report, can capture the 3D aspects of a building design during such 3D mental visualization practices. Additionally, many intuitively believe that the levels at which architects perform such 3D mental visualization practices is highly correlated to their spatial visualization abilities as defined by existing measures of spatial visualization ability. This thesis presents the outcomes of protocol studies and analyses that were conducted with the aim of developing an in-depth understanding about such 3D mental visualization practices and capabilities of architects on the basis of four research questions. First, what might be the nature of the 3D mental visualization phenomena that architects claim to experience: what are the features of these 3D mental visualizations as evidenced in specific tasks; and what might be the nature of the mental representations created during these visualization processes? Second, can every architect carry out these 3D mental visualization practices; might there be individual differences among architects' performances? Third, might 3D mental visualization of buildings be only an architectural skill; can non-architects, who can read 2D architectural drawings, visualize a building in 3D based on its 2D drawings and can they do so to the same levels of performance of those of architects? Fourth, might performance in 3D mental visualization tasks be related to/predicted by spatial visualization ability? The major conclusions of this thesis with regard to the first research question include that (1) architects can be visualizing the buildings in one of the two major forms or by alternatively switching between them: by imagining themselves situated within (almost) the actual size 3D building environment or by imagining a 3D small scale model of the building; (2) the mental representations they create during these visualization processes capture the various visual and spatial aspects of the buildings with a structure similar to that of an actual size or small scale model of the visualized space/form, yet the way they capture these aspects is not like the way these aspects would be captured from a certain viewpoint in reality; and (3) what they experience during these visualization processes is not like the continuous holistic visuospatial experience that one would have when looking at a building or walking inside/around a building. With regard to the second, third and fourth research questions this thesis concludes that (question 2) architects differ in their 3D mental visualization skills; (question 3) 3D mental visualization is an architectural skill in that it relies on certain abilities that become heightened in architects, possibly during education; and (question 4) 3D mental visualization skills are not related to spatial visualization ability as defined by the standard paper-folding test of spatial visualization ability.
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Roberts, Jonathan E. "The Effects of Age and Sex on Mental Rotation Performance, Verbal Performance, and Brain Electrical Activity." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/26514.
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In adult populations, it is generally accepted there is an overall male advantage on spatial tasks and an overall female advantage on verbal tasks. These differences are inconsistent in children. The present study examined relations among age, sex, EEG hemispheric activation, and performance on spatial and verbal tasks. Thirty-two eight-year-olds (16 boys) and 32 college students (16 men) had EEG recorded at baseline and while performing a computerized 2-dimensional Gingerbread Man mental rotation task, a computerized 2-dimensional Alphanumeric mental rotation task, a computerized 3-dimensional Basketball Player mental rotation task, and a computerized Lexical Decision-Making task. Additionally, participants completed a paper-and-pencil Water Level task and an oral Verbal Fluency task. On the 2-dimensional Alphanumeric and 3-dimensional Basketball Player mental rotation tasks men performed better than boys, but the performance of women and girls did not differ. On the Lexical Decision-Making and Water level tasks, men performed better than women, while there was no difference between boys and girls. No sex differences were found on the 2-dimensional Gingerbread Man mental rotation task or Verbal Fluency task. Analyses of task-related data also indicate that computer familiarization or computer related task demands might contribute to sex differences on computerized tasks. EEG analyses indicated that, on the 2-dimensional Alphanumeric mental rotation task, men exhibited more left posterior temporal activation than women, while there were no differences between boys and girls. Additionally, there was evidence that simple, or 2-dimensional, mental rotation tasks are associated with left posterior brain activation, while 3-dimensional mental rotation tasks are associated with right posterior brain activation. On the 2-dimensional Gingerbread Man mental rotation task, males exhibited more activation of the left parietal area than females, while on the 2-dimensional Alphanumeric mental rotation task, men exhibited more activation of the left posterior temporal area than women. On the 3-dimensional Basketball player mental rotation task, all participants exhibited greater activation of the right parietal area than the left parietal area.Ph. D.
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Roberts, Jonathan E. "Sex Differences on a Mental Rotation Task: Variations in Hemispheric Activation Between Children and College Students." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/31573.
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The area of cognitive research that has produced the most consistent sex differences is the area of spatial ability. Particularly, males usually perform better on mental rotation tasks than do females. One argument for these differences is that experience with spatial activity drives these differences, such that traditionally more masculine activities require more practice of spatial abilities. Another argument is biological in nature, such that there is either 1) a critical period of development that leads to differential lateralization of the brain, or 2) differential activation of the brain by circulating hormones. Performance on mental rotation tasks has been associated with right parietal activation levels, both during task performance and prior to performance during baseline recordings. The present study examined the relations among sex, age, EEG hemispheric activation (at the 10.5-13.5Hz. frequency band), and 2-dimensional mental rotation task ability. Nineteen eight-year-olds (10 boys) and 20 college students (10 men), had EEG recorded at baseline and while performing a mental rotation task. Men performed better on the mental rotation task than women, while there were no differences between boys and girls. After covarying for baseline EEG high alpha power values, EEG results during the mental rotation task indicated an interaction, with men exhibiting more activation (lower EEG power values at 10.5-13.5Hz) than women in the parietal and posterior temporal regions, while boys' and girls' power values 10.5-13.5Hz did not differ in the parietal or posterior temporal regions. Furthermore, during the baseline condition, men generally exhibited more activation (lower EEG power values at 10.5-13.5Hz) throughout all regions of the scalp. Results support the hypothesis that hormones, or hormonal influence, may result in a biological change which affects both brain activation and performance on mental rotation tasks.Master of Science
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Jahandideh, Sina. "Job Scheduling Considering Both Mental Fatigue and Boredom." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/20637.
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Numerous aspects of job scheduling in manufacturing systems have been the focus of several studies in the past decades. However, human factors in manufacturing systems such as workers’ mental conditions are still neglected issues and have not received adequate attentions. Job boredom and mental fatigue are both aspects of workers’ mental condition. They affect work performances by increasing sick leave duration and decreasing work productivity. On the other hand, job rotation could be an alternative strategy to cope with such human issues at work. The benefits of job rotation for both employees and firms have been widely recognized in the literature. Although some studies found job rotation as a means to reduce workers' physical work-related traumas, they did not consider the effect of variable mental conditions on workers. Despite the proven importance of boredom and mental fatigue at the workplace, they have not been a combined precise objective of any job rotation problem in current literature.
The study of mental conditions proposed in this paper attempts to extend the previous works by addressing new methods and developing a feasible solution to increase manufacturing productivity. A new job scheduling program has been designed specifically which combines a new job rotation model and a job assignment method.
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Ark, Wendy S. "Comparing mental rotation and feature matching strategies in adults and children with behavioral and neuroimaging techniques." Diss., Connected to a 24 p. preview or request complete full text in PDF format. Access restricted to UC campuses, 2005. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p3190005.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2005.Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 7, 2006). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-142).
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Drummond, Neil M. "Timing of Motor Preparation for Indirectly Cued vs. Directly Cued Movements During a Visuomotor Mental Rotation Task." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/23302.
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Previous investigations comparing direct versus indirectly cued movements have consistently shown that indirectly cued movements take longer to prepare (Neely and Heath, 2010) and involve the recruitment of additional brain areas (Connolly et al., 2000). This increase in processing time has been associated with the additional cognitive transformations required of the task (Neely and Heath, 2010). In the present study we investigated whether differences between direct versus indirectly cued movements are also reflected in the time course of motor preparation. Participants performed a targeting task, moving directly to the location of a visual cue (i.e., directly cued movement) or to a location that differed by 60˚, 90˚, or 120˚ with respect to the visual cue provided (i.e., indirectly cued movements). Participants were instructed to initiate their movements concurrently with an anticipated go-signal. To examine the time course of motor preparation, a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS, 124dB) was randomly presented 150 ms, 500 ms, or 1000 ms prior to the go-signal. Results from the startle trials revealed that the time course of motor preparation was similar regardless of the angle of rotation required and hence whether it was a direct or indirectly cued trial. Specifically, motor preparation was delayed until less than 500 ms prior to movement initiation for both direct and indirectly cued movements. These findings indicate that similar motor preparation strategies are engaged for both types of cued movements, suggesting that the time to prepare a motor response may be similar regardless of whether a cognitive transformation is required.
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Uecker, Anne Cantalupo 1960. "A psychobiological exploration of mental rotation in three groups of children: Control, learning disabled, and Down syndrome." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/278013.
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The present study investigated anomalous hemispheric processing for language and its impact on spatial task performance. Mental rotation and dichotic listening tasks were administered to three groups of children: control (C), learning disabled (LD), and Down syndrome (DS). Significant differences were found in reaction time and accuracy measures in mental rotation. Although the DS group lacked a systematic reaction time function, all three groups produced similar accuracy functions: each group appeared to demonstrate difficulty at equivalent angular disorientations. Dichotic listening resulted in performance differences only when the DS group was compared to the C and LD groups: discrepant language processing was not demonstrated between the C and LD groups. Conclusions could not be reached regarding the impact of language lateralization on spatial task performance. Inconsistencies of neuropsychological measurements are discussed; the topic of mental rotation is explored in depth. Generalizations regarding performance outcomes are limited to a behavioral level.
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Mappus, Rudolph Louis IV. "Estimating the discriminative power of time varying features for EEG BMI." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/31738.
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In this work, we present a set of methods aimed at improving the discriminative power of time-varying features of signals that contain noise. These methods use properties of noise signals as well as information theoretic techniques to factor types of noise and support signal inference for electroencephalographic (EEG) based brain-machine interfaces (BMI). EEG data were collected over two studies aimed at addressing Psychophysiological issues involving symmetry and mental rotation processing. The Psychophysiological data gathered in the mental rotation study also tested the feasibility of using dissociations of mental rotation tasks correlated with rotation angle in a BMI. We show the feasibility of mental rotation for BMI by showing comparable bitrates and recognition accuracy to state-of-the-art BMIs. The conclusion is that by using the feature selection methods introduced in this work to dissociate mental rotation tasks, we produce bitrates and recognition rates comparable to current BMIs.
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Mappus, Rudolph Louis. "Estimating the discriminative power of time varying features for EEG BMI." Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/31738.
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Thesis (Ph.D)--Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010.Committee Member: Alexander Gray; Committee Member: Charles Lee Isbell Jr.; Committee Member: Melody Moore Jackson; Committee Member: Paul M. Corballis; Committee Member: Thad Starner. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.
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Williams, Jacqueline Louise, and jacqueline williams@mcri edu au. "Motor imagery and developmental coordination disorder (DCD)." RMIT University. Health Sciences, 2007. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20080617.141139.
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Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is characterised by impairments to motor control and learning, the cause of which remains unclear. Recently, researchers have used cognitive neuroscientific approaches to explore the basis of poor coordination in children, with one hypothesis suggesting that an internal modelling deficit (IMD) is one of the underlying causes of DCD. The aim of this thesis was to further test the IMD hypothesis using a motor imagery paradigm - the mental rotation of hands. Versions of this task were used in all studies to assess motor imagery ability, with an additional whole-body task used in Studies 2 and 3. Further, an alphanumeric rotation task was used in Studies 1 and 2 to assess visual imagery ability. Studies 1 and 2 provided varying levels of support for the IMD hypothesis. In Study 1, only a subgroup of DCD children performed differently from other children in the study on the hand tasks, but tighter task constraints in Study 2 led to overall group differences between DCD and controls in terms of accuracy. The DCD group were also significantly less accurate than controls in the whole-body task, but there were no group differences in either Study 1 or 2 on the visual imagery task. Interestingly, in Study 2, there was an indication that children with severe levels of motor impairment were less accurate than children with less severe motor impairment, suggesting that motor impairment level could play a role in the severity of motor imagery deficits. Study 3 was designed to explore the impact of motor impairment severity on motor imagery ability further. The results confirmed that children with severe DCD had greater motor imagery impairment than children with mild DCD - children with severe DCD performed less accurately than both controls and those with mild DCD in the hand task with instructions and the controls in the whole-body task. Further, those children with mild DCD were able to respond somewhat to motor imagery instructions, whereas those with severe DCD were not. This study provided support to the IMD hypothesis, though the deficit was shown to be dependent on a number of factors. Chapter 5 presents a reasoned account of these various findings and their implications are discussed. It is concluded that motor imagery deficits are evident in many children with DCD, but more so in children with severe motor impairment. A general imagery deficit was ruled out based on the findings of Studies 1 and 2 which showed that visual imagery processes appear intact in children with DCD. Taken together with previous imagery and IMD studies, and related research on feedforward control in DCD, it is concluded that the deficits in motor imagery observed in this thesis are consistent with the hypothesis that an IMD is one likely causal factor in the disorder, particularly in more severe DCD. The observation of differing response patterns between children with mild and severe forms of DCD has important implications for developing a theory of DCD and for remediation.
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Neilson, James. "Sex differences in spatial cognition an evolutionary approach /." Access electonically, 2004. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20041220.103635/index.html.
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Chien, Shu-chen. "The effectiveness of animated and interactive microcomputer graphics on children's development of spatial visualization ability/mental rotation skills /." The Ohio State University, 1986. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487265555441953.
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Lineweaver, Tara T. "An investigation of visuospatial orientation and mental rotation in patients with Alzheimer's disease and patients with Huntington's disease /." Diss., Connect to a 24 p. preview or request complete full text in PDF format. Access restricted to UC campuses, 1999. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p9935484.
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Caissié, André. "Étude des transferts intermodaux lors de taches de rotation mentale : spécificité tactile, indépendance sensorielle ou dépendance visuelle ?" Thesis, Poitiers, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012POIT5002/document.
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Ce travail de thèse repose sur la combinaison de deux paradigmes de recherche en psychologie cognitive : la rotation mentale et les transferts intermodaux/inter-tâches. Dans notre première étude (Expériences 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, et 2b), l'objectif était d'évaluer la dépendance/indépendance des traitements visuel et tactile, lors de tâches de rotation mentale : le Test des Rotations Mentales (Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978) et une tâche élémentaire de rotation mentale (Shepard & Metzler, 1971). En utilisant un plan expérimental intra-sujet, nous avons comparé quatre conditions expérimentales incluant des apprentissages intramodaux : 1. Visuel-Visuel ; 2. Tactile-Tactile, et des transferts intermodaux : 3. Visuel-Tactile ; 4. Tactile-Visuel. Les participants ont ainsi réalisé deux tâches successives dans des conditions sensorielles similaires ou différentes (session 1 et session 2). Nos résultats révèlent que la rotation mentale peut dépendre de processus de traitement des représentations spécifiques à la modalité sensorielle utilisée. Les informations découlant d'une expérience visuelle sont réutilisables dans la condition tactile, alors qu'à l'inverse, nous n'avons observé que très peu de transferts tactiles en condition visuelle. Les traitements visuels et tactiles, sur des objets tridimensionnels complexes, permettent ainsi le développement de stratégies d'imagerie mentale spécifiques (Visuel-Visuel-IM vs. Tactile-Spatial-IM), découlant de différents modes de traitements perceptifs (visuel-global vs. tactile-spatial)The work presented in this dissertation is based on the combination of two research paradigms in the field of cognitive psychology: mental rotation and intermodal/inter-task transfer of learning. In our first study (Experiments 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, and 2b), the objective was to evaluate the processing dependence/independence of visual and tactile information during two mental rotation tasks: the Mental Rotation Test (Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978) and an object mental rotation task (Shepard & Metzler, 1971). Using an intra-subject experimental design, we compared four experimental conditions including intramodal learning: 1. Visual-Visual ; 2. Tactile-Tactile, and intermodal transfer: 3. Visual-Tactile ; 4. Tactile-Visual. Subjects performed two successive tasks in similar perceptual conditions or different perceptual conditions (session 1 and session 2). Our results revealed that mental rotation can depend on treatment processes of mental representations specific to the perceptual modality being used. The information derived from visual prior experience can be used in the tactile condition, whereas we observed few significant tactile transfers in the visual condition. Visual and tactile treatments on complex three-dimensional objects thus permit specific mental imagery strategies (Visual-Visual-IM vs. Tactile-Spatial-IM), derived from different perceptual exploration strategies (visual-global vs. tactile-spatial)
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McGee, Michael K. "Assessing Negative Side Effects in Virtual Environments." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/35766.
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Virtual environment (VE) systems have been touted as exciting new technologies with many varied applications. Today VEs are used in telerobotics, training, simulation, medicine, architecture, and entertainment. The future use of VEs seems limited only by the creativity of its designers. However, as with any developing technology, some difficulties need to be overcome. Certain users of VEs experience negative side effects from being immersed into the graphically rendered virtual worlds. Some side effects that have been observed include: disorientation, headaches, and difficulties with vision. These negative side effects threaten the safety and effectiveness of VE systems.
Negative side effects have been found to develop in a variety of environments. The research focus on VE side effects thus far has been on the symptoms and not the causes. The main goals of this research is fourfold: 1) to compare a new measure for side effects with established ones; 2) begin analyzing the causes of side effects with an analysis of head-tracking; 3) to examine any adaptation that may occur within a session and between days of a session; and, 4) to examine possible predictors for users who may experience side effects.
An experiment was conducted using two different VEs with either head-tracking on or head-tracking off over four days. A questionnaire, a balance test, a vision test, and magnitude estimations of side effects were used to assess the incidence and severity of sickness experienced in the VEs. Other assessments, including a mental rotation test, perceptual style, and a questionnaire on pre-existing susceptibility to motion sickness were administered. All factors were analyzed to determine what their relationships were with the incidence and severity of negative side effects that result from immersion into the VEs.
Results showed that head-tracking induces more negative side effects than no head-tracking. The maze task environment induces more negative side effects than the office task environment. Adaptation did not occur from day to day throughout the four testing sessions. The incidence and severity of negative side effects increased at a constant rate throughout the 30 minute immersive VE sessions, but did not show any significant changes from day to day. No evidence was found for a predictor that would foretell who might be susceptible to motion sickness in VEs.Master of Science
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Maltese, François. "Effets d’une situation de comparaison sociale dans les différences liées au sexe en rotation mentale : Une étude avec des jumeaux dizygotes." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013AIXM3045/document.
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Le test de rotation mentale (TRM) est robuste pour faire émerger une grande différence de sexe en faveur des hommes. Il existe un stéréotype, communément admis, de moins bonnes performances des femmes en aptitude spatiale. Deux théories explicatives cohabitent. La première, biologique, est liée à une masculinisation du cerveau des garçons sous l'action des androgènes durant la vie fœtale. Dans cette hypothèse, et en raison d'un transfert d'hormones supposé durant la vie intra-utérine, les femmes qui ont un cojumeau doivent avoir des performances meilleures que celles ayant une cojumelle (Vuoksimaa et al., 2010). L'autre hypothèse, que nous défendons, suppose que les différences de sexe au TRM peuvent être socialement construites ou activées par des éléments du Contexte évaluatif et ceci quel que soient les compétences des personnes. Nous avons, pour la première fois dans une étude gémellaire, confronté ces deux hypothèses. Des paires de jumeaux jeunes adultes dizygotes de même sexe (DZMS), 23 paires d'hommes et 34 paires de femmes, et de sexe différent (DZSD), 62 paires, ont passé un TRM informatisé dans deux conditions expérimentales où l'exactitude des réponses et les temps de réponse sont enregistrés. Dans une condition, les consignes du test rendent la situation de comparaison au cojumeau possible (CSP) : « vous et votre jumeau ferez le même test aujourd'hui », dans l'autre condition (CSI) la comparaison est rendue improbable : « vous et votre jumeau ferez des tâches différentes ». Nos résultats n'accréditent pas la théorie biologique et sont en faveur d'une explication en termes d'interférence du stéréotypeThe mental rotation test (MRT) is the most robust test revealing that men outperform women. Two major causes have been proposed for explaining the origin of this difference. The first focused on brain masculinization under the action of androgen during the fetal development. Vuoksimaa et al., (2010) showed that dizygotic opposite-sex female have greater performances than dizygotic same-sex female. For the second hypothesis, sex difference is mainly due to social regulation factors and stereotype threat interaction. We test here this second hypothesis. In a twin design we tested, for the first time, these two causal explanations. Same-sex dizygotic young adult pairs (23 pairs of males and 34 pairs of females), and opposite-sex dizygotic pairs (62 pairs) took a computerized MRT in two experimental co-action conditions. In the first condition, the experimental situation make the co-twin comparison possible (CSP): “you and your co-twin do the same test today”, and in the other experimental condition called, improbable comparison situation (CSI), they are told that: “you and your co-twin do different test today”. Accuracy and responses time where analyzed. Our results do not support the biological model but, in contrary, support the social regulation and stereotype threat model
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Higgins, Heidi Jean. "The relationship of sixth-grade students' mental rotation ability to spatial experience and problem-solving strategies by socioeconomic status and gender." abstract and full text PDF (free order & download UNR users only), 2006. http://0-gateway.proquest.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3239873.
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Feredoes, Eva Psychiatry Faculty of Medicine UNSW. "Investigating the neural correlates of higher cognitive functions in humans using transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. Psychiatry, 2005. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/23460.
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An important aspect of cognitive neuroscience is to localise specific brain regions involved in cognitive tasks, and to determine the mediating brain processes. There are several investigative approaches towards this, but amongst them, only transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is able to interfere with the brain in such a way as to show the critical involvement of a brain region in a particular behaviour. TMS can be applied in normal subjects during the performance of a cognitive task and the resulting disruption of activity in the targeted brain region leads to an alteration in, or suspension of, behaviour consequent upon that brain activity. More recently, another brain stimulation technique has emerged that may also be able to contribute to the investigation of human cognition. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applies a weak direct current to a targeted brain region, modulating cortical excitability and thereby altering the behavioural output. tDCS may be able to provide information that complements TMS and other investigative techniques by modulating behaviour in a way that depends on the role the brain region is carrying out in the task. This thesis describes a series of experiments in which TMS and tDCS were applied to two well-studied cognitive behaviours, working memory (WM) and mental rotation (MR). WM is the temporary retention of information that can be manipulated in order to guide behaviour. The most popular psychological model of WM proposes a multi-modal central executive (CE) that acts upon information stored in dedicated buffers (Baddeley, 1986). The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is a strong candidate as a key CE node (D'Esposito & Postle, 2000; Petrides, 2000b; Smith & Jonides, 1997; Stuss & Knight, 2002). MR is a visuo-cognitive process by which an image can be mentally modified into an orientation other than the one in which it is displayed (Corballis & McLaren, 1984). The area centred around the intraparietal sulcus is a brain key region for MR (Alivisatos & Petrides, 1996; Harris et al., 2000; Jordan et al., 2001). The work presented in this thesis examines the roles of the DLPFC and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in WM and MR, respectively, and also highlights some of the methodological issues that are necessary to consider in order to produce reliable virtual lesions. The studies were carried out in young healthy volunteers, and were approved by the institutional ethics committee. In one study, repetitive TMS (rTMS) was shown to disrupt the manipulation of verbal information held in WM when administered over the right DLPFC, a result which supports a process-based segregation of the human prefrontal cortex for WM. Low- and high-frequency rTMS did not disrupt performance on another popular test of executive processing, n-back, a result which suggests that specific stimulation and task conditions must be met in order to produce virtual lesions, but also questions the critical importance of recruitment of the DLPFC for a running span task. rTMS applied to the right PPC replicated results from a previous TMS investigation, supporting the critical role this region in the rotation of images (Harris & Miniussi, 2003). When the left PPC was stimulated, impairment was produced only for the rotation of inverted stimuli. A role for the left PPC in the rotation of objects-as-a-whole is proposed based on these findings. The use of tDCS in the investigation of WM and MR is amongst the first to be described. Stimulation of the left DLPFC led to decreased performance accuracy on a verbal WM task in a polarity-specific manner. The pattern of results produced supports the role of the DLPFC as a node of a CE. tDCS over the left DLPFC did not modulate n-back task performance, a result which supports the TMS results that the involvement of the left DLPFC is not critical to the successful performance of the n-back task, although methodological issues remain of concern in relation to this conclusion. MR was not affected by tDCS applied to the right PPC and this result is most likely a direct demonstration of the importance of electrode montage. In conclusion, these studies show that rTMS and tDCS can be usefully applied to create virtual cortical lesions or modulate cortical excitability during the performance of cognitive tasks in humans, and can play an important role in investigating cognitive neuropsychological models. More widespread use of these techniques to complement lesion studies and functional neuroimaging is recommended.
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Ferron, Lucas. "Corticospinal Facilitation During Hand Laterality Judgments?" Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/37010.
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Observing others performing actions is a common way to learn new motor skills. Such ability appears to be linked with one’s ability to imagine actions (motor imagery) (Wang et al. 2014). While motor imagery has been widely used in the context of athletic performance, the same approach has also been advocated in rehabilitation settings, where they often target populations with chronic pain using mobile health applications (de la Vega and Miro 2014). However, we still have very limited information as to how the ability to perform motor imagery addresses this rehabilitation application (Johnson et al. 2012). In the present study, we examined this question by looking at modulation in corticospinal excitability in the context of a motor imagery task. The imagery task itself consisted of judging whether images depicting hands in different postures represented either right or left hands. Based on prior neuroimaging and chronometric studies, such laterality judgments about hand postures are thought to involve mental rotations of one’s own hand (i.e., a form of implicit motor imagery) and thus provided an ideal context to evaluate if advocating such strategy is a valid approach to elicit motor activation in rehabilitation patients (Butson et al. 2014; Goble and Brown 2008; Parsons 1987). To this end, we used non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to probe the excitability of the motor system while young healthy participants performed mental rotations in the hand judgment task. Corticospinal excitability was tested in both hemispheres separately (target muscle: first dorsal interosseous) with participants (n=18) seated in front of a computer screen while they performed hand laterality judgments using a commercial set of pictures depicting bare hands in different postures. Excitability was tested also under two other conditions to contrast with variations measured during the hand laterality task, i.e. a mental counting task and a control task (looking at the image of a static foot). In all conditions, TMS (110% resting motor threshold) was set to trigger at ~half of the mean response time in the hand laterality task measured prior to testing with TMS. Comparison of task-related variations in MEP amplitude revealed no significant hemispheric main effect or interaction, although MEPs tended to be larger in general in response to left TMS. A “task condition” effect was observed owing to the large MEP facilitation elicited during the mental counting task, which was significantly different (p<0.001) from either the control “Foot” task or the hand rotation task. In fact, the latter task tended to be associated with MEP depression. A secondary experiment involving a subset of participants (n=6) to examine the influence of image contents (i.e. hand performing actions instead of bare hands) and probing more proximal muscles produced similar results as the main experiment. These results indicate that the general assumption that laterality tasks involving body parts will lead to internal mental rotation and motor activation and enhanced excitability is not necessarily true. In fact, our observations suggest that participants may rely on non-motor strategies based on visual cues when making laterality judgments about body parts. As well, no evidence for hemispheric asymmetry was found with the hand laterality task which is in line with other recent reports. Collectively, these results highlight the need to exert caution when using laterality tasks for rehabilitation purposes. One cannot simply assume that such tasks will translate into motor simulation and facilitation of the motor system. More research should be undertaken before recommending the hand mental rotation task as a viable rehabilitation option for chronic pain.
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Abad, Carla. "The Development of Early Spatial Thinking." FIU Digital Commons, 2018. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3574.
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The different spatial experiences in the lives of young boys and girls may partly explain sex differences in spatial skills (Baenninger & Newcombe, 1995; Nazareth et al., 2013; Newcombe, Bandura & Taylor, 1983). While several studies have examined the influence of spatial activities on the development of spatial skills (e.g., Nazareth et al., 2013) there currently exists no widely used comprehensive measure to assess children’s concurrent participation in spatial activities and engagement with spatial toys. Study 1 of the current dissertation filled this gap in the field of spatial research through the creation of the Spatial Activity Questionnaire, a comprehensive survey designed to assess children’s involvement in spatial activities and engagement with spatial toys of diverse gender-typed content. The toys and activities 295 children were reported to have access to and engage with were explored to assess patterns of play with spatial and gender-stereotyped toys and activities. A sample of 76 children between 4 and 6 years of age and their primary caregivers participated in studies 2, 3, and 4 to explore the toys and activities young children have access to and play with (study 2), the link between play and mental rotation (study 3), and the relation between play, gender stereotypes, and mental rotation skills (study 4). Findings reveal great variability in the toys and activities children have access to and play with, with sex difference suggesting girls play with low-spatial and stereotypically feminine toys and activities more than boys while boys play with highly-spatial and stereotypically masculine toys and activities more than girls. Adding to the exiting literature suggesting the inconsistency of sex differences in early mental rotation skills, our results suggest no sex differences in children’s mental rotation ability. Furthermore, no relations were discovered between children’s play, gender stereotypes, and mental rotation ability. These findings point to the need to further explore the influence of play on when and how sex differences in mental rotation ability develop in order to promote fun and easy ways to support spatial learning in young boys and girls.
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Odean, Rosalie. "The Development of Spatial Vocabulary." FIU Digital Commons, 2018. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3687.
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Previous research has shown a link between the spatial words children use and their performance on spatial reasoning tasks. There is a dearth of measures of spatial language, especially those that focus on a specific type of word. This dissertation introduces three studies, using two measures of dimensional adjective comprehension, one in English and one in Spanish. Study one found that bilingual children’s knowledge of dimensional adjectives in one language is not predictive of their performance on dimensional adjectives in the other language, but that general vocabulary within a language predicts performance in that language. This study also showed that within a pair of polar opposite terms (e.g., long and short) children are more likely to know the term describing the big dimension and not the small dimension than vice versa. The second study found that the number of dimensional concepts children comprehend predicts how well they perform on a spatial scaling test, controlling for age and general vocabulary. The final study failed to find a link between dimensional adjective knowledge and performance on the children’s mental transformation task. These findings might have important implications for early education, showing that supporting children’s understanding of language might have an impact on their spatial reasoning.
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Traas, Adam Michael. "Effects of a treatment using computer generation of isometric and orthographic projections on middle school students' spatial ability." Master's thesis, University of Central Florida, 2010. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/4563.
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The primary focus of this study examines the effectiveness of the CRIOSAT (Computerized Rotational Isometric and Orthographic Spatial) spatial ability treatment on a random sample of middle school students' (n=137) spatial ability as measured by the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations Test (PSVT-ROT) (Guay, 1977). The secondary focus of this study investigates the relationships between mathematical achievement, problem solving preferences, and spatial ability. The secondary focus was tested on a subsample (n=41), with the problem solving preferences measured via the Mathematical Processing Instrument (MPI) (Suwarsono, 1982). Findings indicated no significant gains in spatial ability scores after students' use of the CRIOSAT treatment; while some increases in spatial ability took place in males. Significant positive correlation was identified between mathematics achievement and spatial ability; while conversely, a significant negative correlation was found between mathematics achievement and level of visual problem solving used by students.ID: 028916877; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Central Florida, 2010.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-161).
M.Ed.
Masters
Department of Teaching and Learning Principles
Education
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Viegas, Lia Matos. "Cognição espacial: um estudo sobre o desempenho na realização de tarefas espaciais e fatores que o influenciam." Universidade de São Paulo, 2012. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/47/47132/tde-12062012-151306/.
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As habilidades de navegação e as estratégias de memorização de rotas, temas estudados na área de Cognição Espacial, são assuntos de extrema importância que vem atraindo interesse crescente por parte de psicólogos, etólogos, biólogos, geógrafos e engenheiros. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo testar se os resultados encontrados na literatura se manteriam num contexto naturalístico em que os participantes elaborassem a rota a ser seguida e pudessem realizá-la sem a interferência do pesquisador. Em geral, os pesquisadores elaboram rotas para os participantes e interferem no percurso executado sempre que ocorre um desvio. Na presente pesquisa, também procuramos avaliar se haveria associação do desempenho nessa tarefa com características que, de acordo com a literatura, influenciam o desempenho em tarefas espaciais: tarefas de rotação mental, estratégias de memorização da rota, história de desenvolvimento, quociente de sistematização e razão 2D:4D, um indicador da exposição a andrógenos durante a gestação. O procedimento consistiu em solicitar aos participantes (11 homens, 13 mulheres) que estudassem o mapa de uma região que não conheciam e elaborassem uma rota entre dois pontos dessa área. Essa rota foi seguida logo depois, sendo que os participantes foram avaliados em relação à distância percorrida e ao desvio da rota originalmente elaborada. Foram também submetidos a tarefas de montar quebra-cabeças, a testes de rotação mental e de habilidades lingüísticas, desenho e questionários que avaliaram seu quociente de sistematização e exploraram como era seu ambiente de desenvolvimento e seu comportamento espacial. Finalmente, foi feita a imagem das mãos, para avaliação da Razão 2D:4D. Entre os resultados encontrados, destacamos a diferença nas estratégias usadas por homens e mulheres nas tarefas de memorização das rotas, com as mulheres usando mais pontos de referência relativos do que os homens; além disso, conforme esperávamos, mas contrariando a literatura, homens e mulheres desviaram de maneira equivalente da rota originalmente planejada. Também foram encontradas associações entre a auto-avaliação do senso de direção dos participantes e quociente de Sistematização, ambiente de desenvolvimento e Razão 2D:4D (essa última, só para as mulheres). Participantes que cresceram em ambientes que os estimularam mais ou com maior quociente de Sistematização se auto-avaliaram como tendo um senso de direção melhor. O mesmo ocorreu com mulheres cuja Razão 2D:4D foi mais baixa, indicando maior exposição a hormônios masculinos durante a sua gestação. Pelos resultados encontrados na presente pesquisa, podemos supor que o fato dos participantes terem elaborado as rotas pode ter permitido que eles criassem um percurso que se adaptasse às suas estratégias de memorização. Isso permitiu que a diferença encontrada na literatura entre homens e mulheres quanto ao desempenho nessa tarefa deixasse de existirThe navigation skills and strategies for memorizing routes, studied in the area of spatial cognition, are matters of extreme importance that are attracting growing interest from psychologists, ethologists, biologists, geographers and engineers. This study aimed to test whether the results found in the literature would remain in a naturalistic context in which the participants could plan the route to be followed. In general, the researchers draw routes for participants and interfere whenever a deviation occurs. In this study, we also tried to evaluate whether there was association of performance on this task with features that, according to the literature, influence performance on spatial tasks: mental rotation tasks, strategies for memorizing the route, history of development, systematization quotient and 2D : 4D ratio, an indicator of exposure to androgens during pregnancy. The procedure consisted of asking participants (11 men, 13 women) to study a map of an unfamiliar area and to plan a route between two points in this area. This route was followed soon after, and participants were evaluated for the distance traveled and the deviation of the planned route. They also solved puzzles, tests of mental rotation and language, made a drawing of the research area and answered questionnaires that assessed their systematization style and their developmental environment and spatial behavior. Finally, their hands were photographed to evaluate the 2D:4D ratio. Among the findings, we highlight the difference in the strategies used by men and women in the tasks of memorizing routes, with women using more reference points than men. In addition, as expected, but contrary to the literature, both men and women deviated equally from the route originally planned. We found correlations between self-assessment of participants\' sense of direction and Systematization Quotient, developmental environment and 2D:4D ratio (the last result was found only for women). Participants who grew up in environments that encouraged more autonomy and who had higher Systematization Quotient evaluated themselves as having better sense of direction. The same was true for women whose 2D:4D ratio was lower, indicating greater exposure to male hormones during pregnancy. Based on the results found in our study, we assume that planning their own routes may have favored participants´ memory strategies, reducing the sex difference generally found in the literature on spatial performance
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Holmes, Corinne Ashley. "IT’S THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION: ARRAY STABILITY SUPPORTS FLEXIBLE SPATIAL MEMORY." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2017. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/432549.
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PsychologyPh.D.
The ability to recall a spatial layout from multiple orientations – spatial flexibility – is a challenging cognitive process, especially when the global configuration cannot be viewed from a single vantage point, as spatial information must first be integrated before it can be flexibly recalled. The current study examined if experiencing the transition between multiple viewpoints enhances spatial flexibility for both non-integrated (Exp. 1) and integrated environments (Exp. 2), if the type of transition matters, and if action provides an additional advantage over passive visual flow. In Experiment 1, participants viewed an array of dollhouse furniture from four viewpoints that presented the global configuration from multiple orientations. In Experiment 2, the array was viewed piecemeal, from four viewpoints that presented the global configuration in partial chunks. The control condition presented the dollhouse as a series of static views, whereas in the remaining conditions, visual flow was continuous. Participants viewed the natural transition between viewpoints, and either passively experienced the transitions (i.e., by watching the dollhouse rotate or being rolled around it), or actively generated them (i.e., by rotating the dollhouse or walking around it). Across both experiments, continuous visual flow significantly enhanced spatial flexibility when paired with observer movement around the dollhouse, either active or passive. Furthermore, when participants had to integrate spatial information across discrete learning experiences (Exp. 2), active movement provided a significant advantage above passive experience. These findings suggest that array stability is key to flexible spatial memory, with action providing an additional boost to spatial integration.
Temple University--Theses
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De, Simone Luca. "Tell it to the hand: Attentional modulation in the identification of misoriented chiral objects." Doctoral thesis, SISSA, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11767/3919.
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Research in the field of cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology on spatial
cognition and mental imagery has increased considerably over the last few decades.
While at the beginning of the XX century studying imagery was considered an object of
derision – a ―sheer bunk‖ (Watson, 1928) – at the present, imagery researchers have
successfully developed models and improved behavioral and neurophysiological
measures (e.g., Kosslyn et al., 2006). Mental rotation constituted a major advance in
terms of behavioral measures sensitive to imaginative operations executed on visual
representations (i.e., Shepard & Cooper, 1982). The linearity of modulation between
response times and angular disparity of the images allowed a quantitative estimate of
imagery processes. The experiments described in the present thesis were motivated by
the intent to continue and extend the understanding of such fascinating mental
phenomena. The evolution of the present work took initial steps from the adoption of a
behavioral paradigm, the hand laterality judgment task, as privileged tool for studying
motor imagery in healthy individuals and brain-damaged patients. The similarity with
mental rotation tasks and the implicit nature of the task made it the best candidate to
test hypotheses regarding the mental simulation of body movements. In this task,
response times are linearly affected by the angular departures the hand pictures are
shown in, as for mental rotation, and their distributions are asymmetric between left and
right hands. Drawing from these task features a widely held view posits that laterality
judgment of rotated hand pictures requires participants to imagine hand-arm
movements, although they receive no instruction to do so (e.g., Parsons, 1987a;
Parsons, 1994). In Chapter 1, I provided a review of the relevant literature on visual and
motor imagery. Particular aspects of the mental rotation literature are also explored. In
Chapter 2, I examined the hand laterality task and the vast literature of studies that employed this task as means to test motor imagery processes. An alternative view to
the motor imagery account is also discussed (i.e., the disembodied account). In Chapter
3, I exploited the hand laterality task, and a visual laterality task (Tomasino et al., 2010)
to test motor and visual imagery abilities in a group of healthy aged individuals. In
Chapter 4, I described an alternative view that has been proposed by others to explain
the pattern of RTs in the hand laterality task: The multisensory integration account
(Grafton & Viswanathan, 2014). In this view, hand laterality is recognized by pairing
information between the seen hand's visual features and the observer's felt own hand.
In Chapter 5, I tested and found evidence for a new interpretation of the particular
configuration of response times in the hand laterality task. I demonstrated a spatial
compatibility effect for rotated pictures of hands given by the interaction between the
direction of stimulus rotation (clockwise vs. counterclockwise) and the laterality of the
motor response. These effects changed by following temporal dynamics that were
attributed to shifts of spatial attention. In the same chapter, I conducted other
psychophysics experiments that confirmed the role of spatial attention and that ruled out
the view of multisensory integration as the key aspect in determining the asymmetries of
the response times' distribution. In Chapter 6, I conducted a study with patients suffering
from Unilateral Neglect in which they performed the hand laterality task and a
visual laterality task. The findings indicated that patients failed to integrate visual
information with spatially incompatible responses irrespective of the type of task, and
depending on egocentric stimulus-response spatial codes. A general discussion is
presented in Chapter 7.
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Örnkloo, Helena. "Fitting Objects Into Holes : On the Development of Spatial Cognition Skills." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala University, Department of Psychology, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-8316.
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Children’s ability to manipulate objects is the end-point of several important developments. To imagine objects in different positions greatly improves children’s action capabilities. They can relate objects to each other successfully, and plan actions involving more than one object. We know that one-year-olds can insert an object into an aperture. Earlier research has focused on the start and goal of such actions, but ignored the way in between. This thesis shows that children are unable to fit an object into an aperture unless they can imagine the different projections of the object and rotate it in advance. The problem of how to proceed with an object-aperture matching was studied in 14- to 40-month-old children with a box, different holes and a set of fitting wooden blocks. Study I focused on how to orient a single object to make it fit. Studies II and III added a second object or aperture, introducing choice. In Study I there was a huge difference between 18 and 22 months in solving the fitting problem. Successful insertion was related to appropriate pre-adjustments. The older children pre-adjusted the object orientation before arriving at the aperture(s). The younger used a feedback strategy and that did not work for this task. To choose was more difficult than expected; one must not only choose one alternative, but also inhibit the other. Fifteen-month-olds were unable to choose between sizes and shapes, 20-month-olds could choose between sizes, 30-month-olds could choose between sizes and shapes, but not even 40-month-olds could choose between objects with different triangular cross-sections. Finally, the relationships between an object and an aperture, supporting surface or form were investigated. When comparing tasks requiring relationships between an object’s positive and an aperture’s negative form, between a 3D and a 2D, and between two 3D-forms, we found that the main difficulties is relating positive and negative form.
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Clausen, Sally. "I never forget a face! : memory for faces and individual differences in spatial ability and gender." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2010. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/1394.
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This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.Bachelors
Sciences
Psychology
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Cole, Merryn L. "SPATIAL REASONING AND UNDERSTANDING THE PARTICULATE NATURE OF MATTER: A MIDDLE SCHOOL PERSPECTIVE." UKnowledge, 2017. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/edsc_etds/26.
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This dissertation employed a mixed-methods approach to examine the relationship between spatial reasoning ability and understanding of chemistry content for both middle school students and their science teachers. Spatial reasoning has been linked to success in learning STEM subjects (Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2009). Previous studies have shown a correlation between understanding of chemistry content and spatial reasoning ability (e.g., Pribyl & Bodner, 1987; Wu & Shah, 2003: Stieff, 2013), raising the importance of developing the spatial reasoning ability of both teachers and students.
Few studies examine middle school students’ or in-service middle school teachers’ understanding of chemistry concepts or its relation to spatial reasoning ability. The first paper in this dissertation addresses the quantitative relationship between mental rotation, a type of spatial reasoning ability, and understanding a fundamental concept in chemistry, the particulate nature of matter. The data showed a significant, positive correlation between scores on the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test of Rotations (PSVT; Bodner & Guay, 1997) and the Particulate Nature of Matter Assessment (ParNoMA; Yezierski, 2003) for middle school students prior to and after chemistry instruction. A significant difference in spatial ability among students choosing different answer choices on ParNoMA questions was also found. The second paper examined the ways in which students of different spatial abilities talked about matter and chemicals differently.
Students with higher spatial ability tended to provide more of an explanation, though not necessarily in an articulate matter. In contrast, lower spatial ability students tended to use any keywords that seemed relevant, but provided little or no explanation. The third paper examined the relationship between mental reasoning and understanding chemistry for middle school science teachers. Similar to their students, a significant, positive correlation between scores on the PSVT and the ParNoMA was observed. Teachers who used consistent reasoning in providing definitions and examples for matter and chemistry tended to have higher spatial abilities than those teachers who used inconsistent reasoning on the same questions. This is the first study to explore the relationship between spatial reasoning and understanding of chemistry concepts at the middle school level. Though we are unable to infer cause and effect relationship from correlational data, these results illustrate a need to further investigate this relationship as well as identify the relationship between different spatial abilities (not just mental rotation) and other chemistry concepts.
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Šerkšnas, Juozas. "Regimųjų vaizdų pasukimo mintyse tyrimas, pateikiant juos vienu metu ir nuosekliai." Master's thesis, Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network (LABT), 2010. http://vddb.laba.lt/obj/LT-eLABa-0001:E.02~2007~D_20101125_183216-64428.
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Darbo tikslas – atskleisti figūrų, pateikiamų vienu metu ir nuosekliai, sukimo mintyse ypatumus naudojant tapatumo įvertinimo užduotį. Tiriamieji (32 studentai) atliko tapatumo vertinimo užduotį, kur jiems vienu metu bei nuosekliai (arba atvirkštine tvarka) buvo pateikiamos vienodų arba skirtingų netaisyklingų daugiakampių poros. Stimulai buvo rodomi 100ms vienalaikio pateikimo atveju, esant nuosekliam pateikimui 50ms ir 50ms. Tiriamieji turėjo atsakyti, ar figūros vienodos (nepaisant pasukimo kampo), ar skirtingos. Buvo matuojamas reakcijos laikas bei teisingų atsakymų skaičius. Nustatyta, kad nepasuktos viena kitos atžvilgiu vienodos figūros atpažįstamos tiksliau bei greičiau nei pasuktos bet kokiu kampu. Tiek vienalaikio, tiek nuoseklaus figūrų pateikimo atveju tiesinė reakcijos laiko priklausomybė nuo figūrų tarpusavio pasukimo kampo nenustatyta. Tiek vienodos, tiek skirtingos figūros nuoseklaus pateikimo atveju atpažįstamos tiksliau nei vienalaikio, o reakcijos laikas, vertinant tiek vienodas, tiek skirtingas figūras, trumpesnis vienalaikio pateikimo atveju nei nuoseklaus. Vyrų ir moterų vienodų figūrų atpažinimo tikslumas nesiskiria, bet vyrų reakcijos laikas trumpesnis nei moterų.The purpose of this study was to examine mental rotation of simultaneously and successively presented figures. 32 students performed same – different task in which the pairs of the same or different irregular polygons were presented simultaneously and successively or vice versa. Stimuli were presented briefly – for 100 ms when presented simultaneously and 50 ms and 50 ms when presented successively. The subjects had to answer whether the two figures were the same or different. Response time and performance accuracy were recorded. The results of the experiment showed that not rotated figures were identified faster and more accurately than those rotated at any angle. The increase in reaction time as a linear function of the angle of rotation was not found (either under simultaneous presentation or under successive one).The same figures as well as the different ones were identified more accurately when presented successively than simultaneously and the response time was shorter under simultaneous presentation than under successive one. The accuracy of men and women did not differ, but men outperformed women by response time.
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Thompson, Jacqueline Marie. "Influences of visuospatial mental processes and cortical excitability on numerical cognition and learning." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6f11adba-5ff3-4f3b-b254-fda6ab0ed5a7.
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Numerical cognition has been shown to share many aspects of spatial cognition, both behavioural and neurological. However, it is unclear whether a particular type of spatial cognition, visuospatial mental imagery (VSMI), may play a role in symbolic numerical representation. In this thesis, I first show that mental rotation, a form of VSMI, is related to two measures of basic numerical representation. I then show that number-space synaesthesia (NSS), a rare type of VSMI involving visualised spatial layouts for numbers, does not show an advantage in mental rotation, but shows interference in number line mapping. I next present a study investigating links between NSS and the ability to learn novel numerical symbols. I demonstrate that NSS shows an advantage at learning novel numerals, and that transcranial random noise stimulation, which increases cortical excitability, confers broadly similar advantages that nonetheless differ in subtle ways. I present a study of transcranial alternating current stimulation on the same symbol learning paradigm, which fails to demonstrate effects. Lastly, I present data showing that strength of numerical representation in these newly-learnt symbols is correlated with a measure of mental rotation, and also with visual recognition ability for the symbols after, but not before, training. All together, these findings suggest that VSMI does indeed play a role in numerical cognition, and that it may do so from an early stage of learning symbolic numbers.
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Donelson, Frederick Loye. "The development, testing, and use of a computer interface to evaluate an information processing model describing the rates of encoding and mental rotation in high school students of high and low spatial ability." The Ohio State University, 1990. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1412941233.
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