TY - JOUR
T1 - The relation between computerized and paper-and-pencil mental rotation tasks
T2 - A validation study
AU - Voyer, Daniel
AU - Butler, Tracy
AU - Cordero, Juan
AU - Brake, Brandy
AU - Silbersweig, David
AU - Stern, Emily
AU - Imperato-McGinley, Julianne
N1 - Funding Information:
A number of recent meta-analyses have demonstrated that men typically outperform women on measures of spatial abilities (e.g., Hedges & Nowell, 1995; Linn & Petersen, 1985; Voyer, Voyer, & Bryden, 1995). The analysis performed by Linn and Petersen (1985) was especially important in that it distinguished between categories of tests based on the magnitude of gender differences and the results of previous factor analytic studies. Using this approach, three clusters of spatial ability measures were described: mental rotation, spatial perception, and spatial visualization. Linn and Petersen defined mental rotation as the ability to rotate a two or three-dimensional figure rapidly and accurately in imagination. Spatial perception was defined as the ability to determine spatial relations This study was funded by a National Institute of Health grant (J. Imperato-McGinley, Principal Investigator). The authors are thankful to Mariana Soraggi for her assistance with data collection and scoring. We are also indebted to Michael Peters for providing the three-dimensional drawing used in the computerized task.
PY - 2006/9/1
Y1 - 2006/9/1
N2 - The present study aimed at validating a computerized mental rotation task developed for use in functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies. Eighty-three females and 74 males completed the computerized task, two pencil-and-paper tests of mental rotation, and reported their high school grades in mathematics, English, and history. The computerized task involved the presentation of pairs of three-dimensional stimuli that differed in orientation by 0, 40, 80, 120, or 160 degrees. Results showed significant gender differences in favor of males in the three main tasks, although gender interacted with angle of rotation in the computerized task. Evidence for concurrent validity was obtained in the form of significant correlations between performance on tasks relevant to mental rotation (paper and pencil tests and mathematics grades), whereas discriminant validity was demonstrated by a lack of correlation with tasks deemed irrelevant to mental rotation (English and history grades). These findings support the use of our computerized mental rotation task as a valid measure of mental rotation abilities in fMRI studies.
AB - The present study aimed at validating a computerized mental rotation task developed for use in functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies. Eighty-three females and 74 males completed the computerized task, two pencil-and-paper tests of mental rotation, and reported their high school grades in mathematics, English, and history. The computerized task involved the presentation of pairs of three-dimensional stimuli that differed in orientation by 0, 40, 80, 120, or 160 degrees. Results showed significant gender differences in favor of males in the three main tasks, although gender interacted with angle of rotation in the computerized task. Evidence for concurrent validity was obtained in the form of significant correlations between performance on tasks relevant to mental rotation (paper and pencil tests and mathematics grades), whereas discriminant validity was demonstrated by a lack of correlation with tasks deemed irrelevant to mental rotation (English and history grades). These findings support the use of our computerized mental rotation task as a valid measure of mental rotation abilities in fMRI studies.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/33745824252
U2 - 10.1080/13803390591004310
DO - 10.1080/13803390591004310
M3 - Article
C2 - 16822733
AN - SCOPUS:33745824252
SN - 1380-3395
VL - 28
SP - 928
EP - 939
JO - Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
JF - Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
IS - 6
ER -