Mental Rotation

Mental rotation is a cognitive process during which a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object is imaginatively formed and rotated. The operation requires the ability to make perceptual judgments and determine whether the object is identical to or the mirror image of another object. Roger Shepard and Jacqueline Metzler are credited with introducing the concept into cognitive science in 1971. Their conclusions that analog representations are used in processing visual information challenged the behaviorist principle that held that thought processes rely solely upon language. It also complicated the digital computer model of the mind that was central to the emerging field of cognitive science.

Overview

Because mental rotation has implications for skills ranging from recognition of the letters of the alphabet to laparoscopic surgery, researchers since 1971 have studied mental rotation in various groups ranging from infants to the elderly. Evidence has been consistent throughout experiments that mental rotation times are faster for men than for women. Even when researchers studied mental rotation among infants as young as five months, males were more proficient than females at distinguishing between objects and their mirror images. Two independent experiments in 2008 reported that mental rotation ability is present in male infants as young as three and a half months old. Two explanations have been offered for these gender variations. Some argue that the differences are attributable to different experiences: males are more likely than females to engage in activities that involve spatial abilities. Others insist that the differences are connected to hormone levels. Data from numerous studies suggests that the higher concentration of testosterone in males is a significant factor in their superior performance on spatial tasks. However, differences between male and female performance on mental rotation tasks that were marked in the study of infants and adults were inconsistent in prepubescent children. Supporters of the hormonal influx explanation note that testosterone levels are higher in males during the first year of life but are low among both sexes from the end of the first year until the period just prior to the onset of puberty.

Considerable evidence suggests that practice can improve scores on mental rotation tests and decrease the disparity between male and female scores, although the prevailing opinion is that the improvement is in the speed of rotation rather than in the general process. One 2013 study found that although men outperformed women during a pre-test of mental rotation ability, brief practice allowed women to perform at an equivalent level in subsequent tests. Studies have also shown that women who play video games that require manipulation of objects in space demonstrate acuity at mental rotation that is equal to that of males. Studies among college students have found that those who engage in long-term physical and musical activity do better than other students at spatial cognitive performance, measured by mental rotation performance. Gender differences among athletes were consistent with differences observed in other studies, but gender differences in music students was not statistically significant. A study published in Collabra: Psychology in 2023 showed that older adults, those between the ages of 86 and 97, had a better mental rotation performance if they were rotating objects with a human face on them. Researchers concluded that the human-body analogy was effective in encouraging older adults to adopt a holistic approach to mental rotation.

Bibliography

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Kay, Lachlan, Rebecca Keogh, and Joel Pearson. "Slower but More Accurate Mental Rotation Performance in Aphantasia Linked to Differences in Cognitive Strategies." Consciousness and Cognition, vol. 121, May 2024, doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2024.103694. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

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Muto, Hiroyuki, et al. "Human-Body Analogy Improves Mental Rotation Performance in People Aged 86 to 97 Years." Collabra: Psychology, vol. 9, 3 May 2023,

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