Abstract
We examined how Mental Rotation (MR) ability was improved by presenting information that the task was one that could be accomplished. This information purportedly came from either peers or the experimenter. Men and women students completed 10 MR items from the Purdue Visualization of Rotations Test (Bodner & Guay, 1997) and provided self-reports about their confidence in their abilities to perform rotations, background skills and experiences, and effort with the task. The peer-presentation technique improved performance on MR, as both men and women who read that other students had previously managed the tasks performed better than those who merely heard about the tasks, leaving an implied difficulty unaddressed or “in the air.” When self-reported confidence in MR ability was held constant there were no gender differences in MR performance. The results suggest that appropriate peer models may improve performance on cognitive tasks, perhaps by increasing confidence in ability.
Highlights
Success in high-status science and engineering fields may be due in part to facility with Mental Rotation (MR), a cognitive skill that involves the manipulation and transformation of three-dimensional objects in the head (Voyer, Voyer, & Bryden, 1995)
Our research examined whether a stereotype threat could be nullified by presenting examples of gender-specific successes directly from either peers or from the experimenter, focusing on how people have shown ability on an MR task
We examined the influence of several self-perception and background experience variables to MR, which we expected might be related to MR ability for both men and women
Summary
Success in high-status science and engineering fields may be due in part to facility with Mental Rotation (MR), a cognitive skill that involves the manipulation and transformation of three-dimensional objects in the head (Voyer, Voyer, & Bryden, 1995). Research shows robust and consistent gender differences in MR, as men rotate three-dimensional objects faster and more accurately than women (Bodner & Guay, 1997; Cherney & Collaer, 2005; Resnick, 1993; Voyer et al, 1995; Walter, Roberts, & Brownlow, 2000). Experience is important to MR, but not essential, as ability with spatial tasks can be facilitated for both men and women by training and practice (Baenninger & Newcombe, 1989; Brownlow & Miderski, 2002; Cherney, 2008; Voyer & Isaacs, 1993).
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