individual differences in spatial perception and cognition: mary hegarty university of california,...
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Individual Differences in Spatial Perception and Cognition:
Mary Hegarty
University of California, Santa Barbara
Structural geology, as I understand it..
• Identifying patterns in noisy data• Constructing 3-d “mental models” from 2-d
displays• Imagining internal structure e.g., a slice
through a 3-d structure• Imagining geological processes in three
dimensions• Inferring process from structure
The Problem..
• Students differ in their ability to “think spatially” that is..– Imagine three dimensional structures– Mentally manipulate spatial representations– Infer dynamic processes from static structures
• This limits their ability to learn structural geology
Outline of My Presentation
• Individual differences in spatial abilities
• Possible causal factors
• Training of spatial abilities
• Focus on cross sections problem
• Conclusions
History of Measurement of Spatial Abilities
• Practical goal: Personnel selection
• Concrete manipulation to abstract spatial abilities
• Debates about the structure of intelligence: one intelligence or many?
• Factor analysis
One Spatial Ability or Many?
• A recent meta analysis (Carroll, 1993)
- Perceptual Speed
- Spatial Relations
- Spatial Visualization
- Closure Speed
- Flexibility of Closure
Competencies Underlying Spatial Abilities
• Speed of Processing
• Working Memory
• Strategies
Speeded Rotation
Angle of Rotation
ResponseTime
High Ability
Low Ability
Causal Factors
Classic Debate:
• Nature: Evolution, heredity, hormones
• Nurture: Experience, training, education
Where this has played out:
• Sex differences in spatial abilities
• Linn & Peterson (N =172 studies)
Males’ score – Females’ score-------------------------------------
Pooled Standard Deviation
– Spatial perception .44*– Speeded rotation .73*– Spatial visualization .13 n.s.
Sex Differences in Some but not All Spatial Abilities
More Recent Meta Analysis (N = 286)(Voyer, Voyer & Bryden, 1995)
Card Rotations (.31)
3-D Mental Rotations (.67)
Embedded Figures (.18)
Paper Folding (.12)
Sex Difference No Sex Difference
Possible Causal Factors
Nature• Evolutionary pressures
on males and females• Heredity (twin studies)• Hormones
– In development
– Across menstrual, daily and yearly cycles
Nurture• Different rearing
practices (toys etc)• Navigation and home
range• Cultural differences• Cohort effects
Beyond Sex Differences
“ As a society, our focus should e on the optimization of spatial ability in all individuals, rather than a focus on rank ordering of the sexes”
“ this long-standing debate concerning the causes of sex differences in certain spatial abilities, although scientifically interesting, has diverted attention from a much more important point; that there is currently plenty of evidence to conclude that spatial skill is trainable, for both sexes”
Newcombe, Mathason, and Terlecki (2003)
Training of Spatial Abilities
• Several isolated studies, short term, no large systematic research program
• Types of Studies:– Effects of learning subject matter content– Effects of Practice– Teaching Strategies– “Visualizing” what people have to imagine
Can Spatial Abilities be Trained?
• Several studies have shown that spatial abilities can be improved by a small amount of training
• Issues of how far this training tranfers
• More extensive, longer range studies needed
Does Initial Spatial Ability determine Final Success?
• Studies of spatial abilities in skill acquisition– Spatial ability may be more important at early
stages of training– Students of all abilities able to learn, but at
different rates
• Is this true for all spatial tasks?
Importance of Cross-Sections
engineering
microbiology
cognitiveneuroscience astronomy
anatomy meteorology physics geology
Problem
• Object to be understood has an internal 3-D structure
• Representation medium (printed page or computer screen) is 2-D
Three Dimensional Perception
Depth Cues
Pictorial: e.g. linear perspective, occlusion
Binocular: e.g., binocular disparity
Motion based: e.g., motion parallax
3-D Perception
• Only pictorial cues available in a static diagram
• Animation can also provide motion-based cues– Motion parallax– Accretion and Deletion
Current Research Program
• Task: Draw the cross-section that would result when a 3-dimensional structure is sliced
• Measured spatial ability
• Animations available– Interactive– Non-interactive
Preliminary Results
• Drawing performance highly correlated with spatial ability
• Performance improves, especially for low-spatial individuals– When they are shown an “instructional” video, of how
to draw a cross-section
– When they are exposed to an interactive animation
• Similar results found in research on instructional animations in anatomy
Conclusions
• There are large individual differences in spatial perception and visualization ability
• These abilities are influenced but unlikely to be completely determined by nature
• Means of nurturing spatial abilities need more systematic study
• I’m interested in learning what has worked for you…