Gender Differences in Mental Rotation
Gender Differences in Mental Rotation
Abstract
The general research topic for this were the sex differences in mental rotation. Twenty- five female students and five male students were assigned to different treatment conditions and were tested on their response time and accuracy in the different mental rotation conditions. It was hypothesized that lateralization between genders would effect the results based on stimulus type. Males were expected to perform better, both in accuracy and speed, with regards to the 2-D shape. On the other hand, females were expected to perform the same as or better than males on the letter R ' mental rotational task. In looking at the independent variables being the two task sessions which were the pointed object and the letter R and that second variable being gender many summaries were made. Table one shows that females were faster in their response time than males. Table two shows that females were also just as accurate as males. These results therefore reject the hypothesis previously stated.
Gender Differences in Mental Rotation
Mental rotation is the ability to rotate two and three dimensional figures mentally. The mental rotation theory is the notion that the more degrees an object is physically rotated results in more degrees of mental rotation which consequently leads to longer response times. Roger Shepard, a prominent psychologist, was a notable researcher of mental rotation. In a study executed by Shepard and Metzler (1971), pairs of 2 and 3-D images consisting of shapes and letters were shown to a number of subjects. While viewing the paired objects, subjects were asked to specify if the objects were the same or if they were mirror images of each other. Their investigation revealed reaction times of the subjects distinguishing whether the objects matched or not.
The research done by each of these psychologist brought about many findings. It was found that the more an object was rotated in comparison
Abstract
The general research topic for this were the sex differences in mental rotation. Twenty- five female students and five male students were assigned to different treatment conditions and were tested on their response time and accuracy in the different mental rotation conditions. It was hypothesized that lateralization between genders would effect the results based on stimulus type. Males were expected to perform better, both in accuracy and speed, with regards to the 2-D shape. On the other hand, females were expected to perform the same as or better than males on the letter R ' mental rotational task. In looking at the independent variables being the two task sessions which were the pointed object and the letter R and that second variable being gender many summaries were made. Table one shows that females were faster in their response time than males. Table two shows that females were also just as accurate as males. These results therefore reject the hypothesis previously stated.
Gender Differences in Mental Rotation
Mental rotation is the ability to rotate two and three dimensional figures mentally. The mental rotation theory is the notion that the more degrees an object is physically rotated results in more degrees of mental rotation which consequently leads to longer response times. Roger Shepard, a prominent psychologist, was a notable researcher of mental rotation. In a study executed by Shepard and Metzler (1971), pairs of 2 and 3-D images consisting of shapes and letters were shown to a number of subjects. While viewing the paired objects, subjects were asked to specify if the objects were the same or if they were mirror images of each other. Their investigation revealed reaction times of the subjects distinguishing whether the objects matched or not.
The research done by each of these psychologist brought about many findings. It was found that the more an object was rotated in comparison
References: Amorim, Michel-Ange, Brice Isableu and Mohammed Jarraya (2006) Embodied Spatial Transformations: "Body Analogy" for the Mental Rotation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Cohen, M. "Changes in Cortical Activities During Mental Rotation: A mapping study using functional magnetic resonance imaging" 1996 February 12, 2006 Sternberg, R.J Hertzog C., and Rypma B. (1991). Age differences in components of mental rotation task performance. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 29(3), 209-212. Johnson A.M Jones B., and Anuza T. (1982). Effects of sex, handeness, stimulus and visual field on `mental rotation '. Cortex, 18, 501-514 Parsons et al Shepard et al.(1982 & 1971). (Mental images and their transformations) (Mental rotation of three dimensional objects) Science, vol 171(972) 701-703.