Development Of Spatial Abilities Research Articles

Developmental Aspects of Organizational Strategies in Recall of Extent of Movement

Ten boys and 10 girls, each at 6, 9, 12, and 15 yr. of age were presented four movement distances which had to be recalled in specific order. The children were precued for presentation order or for the order in which the distances were to be recalled. As expected, error in recall decreased significantly with age, greatest performance differences occurring between the age groups of 6 and 9 yr. Recalling distances from longest to shortest produced less error than either random order or shortest to longest recall, in all age groups. There was no significant effect for precue condition, so differences in performance could not be accounted for by any organizational strategy made possible by the information available in the precue condition. Development of spatial abilities may have masked other changes.

Sex differences in spatial ability and spatial activities

Explanations of sex-related differences in spatial ability emphasizing the role of sex-differentiated experience have not been supported by direct measurement of spatial activities during adolescence, the period when these differences seem to increase. The present research involved development of a scale to measure the spatial experience of adolescents and adults. In Study 1, a list, as complete as possible of adolescent activities was compiled and given to undergraduate judges for ratings of involvement of spatial skills and sex-typing. Judges also indicated whether they had participated in each activity. Activities considered spatial by 75% or more of the judges were used to develop a spatial experience questionnaire. Judgments of the spatial nature of tasks were positively correlated with judged masculinity and with greater male than female participation. In Study 2, participation in spatial activities by undergraduates was correlated with spatial ability as measured by the Differential Aptitude Test. The activity questionnaire should prove useful in studying the development of spatial ability in adolescents and adults.

Spatial ability in men and women: Review and new theory

Results from research on spatial abilities are selectively reviewed. Differences are noted in the effect of puberty on spatial ability of men and women, in the development of spatial ability in early- and late-maturing boys and girls, and in the spatial ability of feminine men and masculine women. Abnormalities are described in the spatial ability of men and women with hormonal disturbances. Variations are found in the spatial ability of women during the menstrual cycle. These findings are considered to lack an adequate explanation, so a new theory is proposed to account for them. The theory considers the cerebral level of estrogen to play an essential role in the expressions of spatial ability while testosterone is said to modulate actions of estrogen. The sex specific ontogenetic pattern of plasma hormone values and the loci of their biological action are outlined, and central mechanisms for hormone-brain-behavior relations are discussed. The theory is used to account for recent findings on spatial ability of women and men. Several implications of the theory are considered, and experiments needed to test the theory directly are discussed.

Spatial perception in the blind.

It is often that the spatial senses (vision, hearing and the tactual senses) operate as distinct and independent modalities and, moreover, that vision is crucial to the development of spatial abilities. However, well controlled studies of blind persons with adequate experience show that they can function usefully in space. In other words, vision is not a necessary condition for spatial awareness. On the other hand, thought the blind may be equal or even superior to the sighted when performing spatial tasks within the body space, they may be deficient, either developmentally or absolutely, in tasks which involve events at a distance from the body, principally in auditory localization. One possible explanation of the differences between blind and sighted (McKinney, 1964; Attneave & Benson, 1969, Warren, 1970) is that vision is the primary spatial reference, and inputs from other modalities are fitted to a visual map. Several criticisms of this theory are adduced and an alternative theory derived from Sherrington (1947), in which all sensory inputs map on to efferent patterns, is sketched.

Analysis of the development of children's spatial reference systems

Four, six, and ten-year-old children were required to copy an object's location and orientation within a two-dimensional spatial layout under two conditions: when both E's standard board and that of the S's were in the same orientation and when they were rotated 180 ° from each other. The failure of the 4-yr-olds to copy location and orientation under both conditions even when space was topographically coded indicates that at this age the child does not conceptualize space within two dimensions. Although the errors of the 4-yr-olds tended to be of a self-reference nature with respect to orientation and location on rotation trials the axes of the self-reference system were not coordinated. Six and 10-yr-old children performed significantly better on both conditions, with the exceptions that the 6-yr-olds continued to preserve some orientations within a self-reference system. When topographical codes were removed and S imagined rotation there were no significant age differences in total errors; however, older children organized entire subspaces within a self-reference system. The findings support Piaget and Inhelder's hypothesis that two-dimensional reference systems do not develop until the period of concrete operational thought, and they also indicate that even at age 10, the self-reference system continues to function when topographical codes are absent. Several cognitive mechanisms proposed to account for the development of spatial abilities are critically discussed.

Racial differences in heritability estimates for tests of spatial ability.

172 pairs of MZ twins and 112 pairs of like-sexed DZ twins were given a battery of psychological tests which included Surface Development Test, Porteus Mazes, Newcastle Spatial Test, Paper Folding Test, Identical Pictures Test, Perceptual Speed, Object-Aperture Test, Form B, and Cube Comparisons. 242 were boys and 326 girls, of whom 482 were white and 86 Negro. Ages ranged from 13 to 18 yr. Using four different heritability ratios the relative intrapair similarity of MZ and like-sexed DZ twins on selected spatial tests was determined. Although the MZ and DZ intraclass rs are generally higher for the white than for Negro children the heritability estimates which are determined by rMZ rDZ differences are higher for the Negro pupils. Environment does not play a more significant role in the development of spatial ability of Negro children than of white children.

Deficit in Space Concepts Associated with Visual Deprivation

A deficit in space concepts associated with visual deprivation was measured by a spatial relationship test, comparing children blind from birth with matched sighted counterparts. Significant differences were found between blind and sighted groups on spatial relationships, but not on other baseline measures. The findings suggested that the development of spatial abilities is dependent on visual experience.