Abstract
Spatial transformation skills are an essential aspect of cognitive ability. These skills can be improved by practice, but such improvement has usually been specific to tasks and stimuli. The present study investigated whether intensive long-term practice leads to change that transcends stimulus and task parameters. Thirty-one participants (14 male, 17 female) were tested on three cognitive tasks: a computerized version of the Shepard-Metzler (1971) mental rotation task (MRT), a mental paper-folding task (MPFT), and a verbal analogies task (VAT). Each individual then participated in daily practice sessions with the MRT or the MPFT over 21 days. Postpractice comparisons revealed transfer of practice gains to novel stimuli for the practiced task, as well as transfer to the other, nonpracticed spatial task. Thus, practice effects were process based, not instance based. Improvement in the nonpracticed spatial task was greater than that in the VAT; thus, improvement was not merely due to greater ease with computerized testing.
Highlights
Each individual participated in daily practice sessions with the mental rotation task (MRT) or the mental paper-folding task (MPFT) over 21 days
For overall response times (RTs), we found an interaction between task and Initial Session MPFT group 2,965 184 758 99 1,448 170 3,166 132 240 37 2,686 152 2,933 155 237 30 2,459 173 MRT group 2,676 211 675 87 1,327 175 3,132 182 257 46 2,618 195 2,970 159 325 31 2,319 152
In order to ensure that this effect was not due to scale differences between the conditions, we normalized the data by calculating RT means and standard deviations (SDs) for each participant in each condition and by extracting z scores of improvement from the initial to final session, with the values on the same scale for each condition
Summary
Giorgio Ganis Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts. Kosslyn Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Spatial transformation skills are an essential aspect of cognitive ability. These skills can be improved by practice, but such improvement has usually been specific to tasks and stimuli. Improvement in the nonpracticed spatial task was greater than that in the VAT; improvement was not merely due to greater ease with computerized testing. Performance of spatial tasks can be improved through practice and training (see, e.g., Baenninger & Newcombe, 1989); this has wide implications for education
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
