Individual Differences In Spatial Ability Research Articles

Individual differences in emerging adults’ spatial abilities: What role do affective factors play?

Spatial ability is defined as a cognitive or intellectual skill used to represent, transform, generate, and recall information of an object or the environment. Individual differences across spatial tasks have been strongly linked to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) interest and success. Several variables have been proposed to explain individual differences in spatial ability, including affective factors such as one’s confidence and anxiety. However, research is lacking on whether affective variables such as confidence and anxiety relate to individual differences in both a mental rotation task (MRT) and a perspective-taking and spatial orientation task (PTSOT). Using a sample of 100 college students completing introductory STEM courses, the present study investigated the effects of self-reported spatial confidence, spatial anxiety, and general anxiety on MRT and PTSOT. Spatial confidence, after controlling for effects of general anxiety and biological sex, was significantly related to performance on both the MRT and PTSOT. Spatial anxiety, after controlling for effects of general anxiety and biological sex, was not related to either PTSOT or MRT scores. Together these findings suggest some affective factors, but not others, contribute to spatial ability performance to a degree that merits advanced investigation in future studies.

The role of the KIBRA and APOE genes in developing spatial abilities in humans.

In the contemporary high-tech society, spatial abilities predict individual life and professional success, especially in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines. According to neurobiological hypotheses, individual differences in cognitive abilities may be attributed to the functioning of genes involved in the regulation of neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity. In addition, genome-wide association studies identified rs17070145 located in the KIBRA gene, which was associated with individual differences in episodic memory. Considering a significant role of genetic and environmental components in cognitive functioning, the present study aimed to estimate the main effect of NGF (rs6330), NRXN1 (rs1045881, rs4971648), KIBRA (rs17070145), NRG1 (rs6994992), BDNF (rs6265), GRIN2B (rs3764030), APOE (rs7412, rs429358), and SNAP25 (rs363050) gene polymorphisms and to assess the effect of gene-environment interactions on individual differences in spatial ability in individuals without cognitive decline aged 18–25 years (N = 1011, 80 % women). Spatial abilities were measured using a battery of cognitive tests including the assessment of “3D shape rotation” (mental rotation). Multiple regression analysis, which was carried out in the total sample controlling for sex, ethnicity and the presence of the “risk” APOE ε4 allele, demonstrated the association of the rs17070145 Т-allele in the KIBRA gene with enhanced spatial ability (β = 1.32; pFDR = 0.037) compared to carriers of the rs17070145 CC-genotype. The analysis of gene-environment interactions revealed that nicotine smoking (β = 3.74; p = 0.010) and urban/rural residency in childhood (β = –6.94; p = 0.0002) modulated the association of KIBRA rs17070145 and АРОЕ (rs7412, rs429358) gene variants with individual differences in mental rotation, respectively. The data obtained confirm the effect of the KIBRA rs17070145 Т-allele on improved cognitive functioning and for the first time evidence the association of the mentioned genetic variant with spatial abilities in humans. A “protective” effect of the APOE ε2 allele on enhanced cognitive functioning is observed only under certain conditions related to childhood rearing.

Spatial Abilities for Architecture: Cross Sectional and Longitudinal Assessment With Novel and Existing Spatial Ability Tests.

This study examined individual differences in spatial abilities of architecture students. Students at different educational levels were assessed on spatial ability tests that varied in their domain-specificity to architecture, with the hypothesis that larger differences between beginner and advanced students will emerge on more domain-specific tests. We also investigated gender differences in test performance and controlled for general reasoning ability across analyses. In a cross sectional study, master students (N = 91) outperformed beginners (N = 502) on two novel tests involving perspective taking and object composition, as well as on a standardized visualization of cross-sections test, but not on a standardized mental rotations test. Longitudinally (N = 117), spatial performance improved after the first bachelor year on visualization of cross-sections, object composition and mental rotation. Although both genders showed higher spatial test performance with increased experience, male students outperformed females across tests and levels of education. The results overall confirmed improvements in spatial performance during architecture studies, with partial support for the domain-specificity hypothesis. A gender gap among advanced students calls for further examining architecture-specific spatial thinking.

Environmental overlap and individual encoding strategy modulate memory interference in spatial navigation

There has been great interest in how previously acquired knowledge interacts with newly learned knowledge and how prior knowledge facilitates semantic and “schema” learning. In studies of episodic memory, it is broadly associated with interference. Very few studies have examined the balance between interference and facilitation over the course of temporally-extended events and its individual differences. In the present study, we recruited 120 participants for a two-day spatial navigation experiment, wherein participants on Day 2 navigated virtual routes that were learned from Day 1 while also learning new routes. Critically, half of the new mazes overlapped with the old mazes, while the other half did not, enabling us to examine interference and facilitation in the context of spatial episodic learning. Overall, we found that navigation performance in new mazes that overlapped with previously-learned routes was significantly worse than the new non-overlapping mazes, suggesting proactive interference. Interestingly, we found memory facilitation for new routes in familiar environments in locations where there was no direct overlap with the previously-learned routes. Cognitive map accuracy positively correlated with proactive interference. Moreover, participants with high self-report spatial ability and/or a preference for place-based learning experienced more proactive interference. Taken together, our results show that 1) both memory interference and facilitation can co-occur as a function of prior learning, 2) proactive interference within a route varied as a function of the degree of overlap with old knowledge, and 3) individual differences in spatial ability and strategy can modulate proactive interference.

Spatial Reference Frame but Neither Age nor Gender Predict Performance on a Water-Level Task in 8- to 11-Year-Old Children.

Successful performance on the water-level task, a common measure of spatial perception, requires adopting an environmental, rather than object-centered, spatial frame of reference. Use of this strategy has not been systematically studied in prepubertal children, a developmental period during which individual differences in spatial abilities start to emerge. In this study, children aged 8 to 11 reported their age and gender, completed a paper-and-pencil water-level task, and drew a map of their neighborhood to assess spontaneous choice of spatial frame of reference. Results showed a surprising lack of age or gender difference in water-level performance, but a significant effect of spatial frame of reference. Although they made up only a small portion of the sample, children who drew allocentric maps had the highest water-level score, with very high accuracy. These results suggest that children who adopt environmental-based reference frames when depicting their familiar environment may also use environmental-based reference frame strategies to solve spatial perception tasks, thereby facilitating highly accurate performance.

Size Matters? Evaluating the Effect of Size on Anatomy Learning

Until recently, the size of an anatomical structure for learning was simply its natural size. Now, with increasing accessibility of 3D scanning and printing, a highly accurate model of virtually any size can be produced. But the question remains, what is the best size for learning? To investigate the effect of object size on learning, 3D models were printed from surface scans of bones using a structured light 3D scanner. A human thoracic vertebra and a human hemipelvis were chosen both for their variation in size and the fact that bones lend themselves well to 3D printing. The bones were each printed in PLA filament at 50%, 100%, and 400% scale. Undergraduate students from McMaster University (n=120) with no prior knowledge of anatomy were randomized into six groups according to 1) which size of model they would learn from and 2) which bone they would learn first. Each participant was asked to learn nominal anatomy from both a hemipelvis and a vertebra model of the same size. After the learning stage, participants were immediately tested on a real bony specimen. The learning and testing stages were then repeated with the other bone. Finally, participants completed a mental rotations test (MRT) and operation span task (OSPAN) to control for any effects of individual differences in spatial ability or working memory on anatomy learning, respectively. Participants also completed a short qualitative survey about their opinions on the size, labelling, colour, and handling of the 3D printed models. Data collection is underway. Test performance will be analyzed using a 3 (bone size: 0.5x, 1x, 4x) × 2 (Bone type: vertebra, hemipelvis) factorial ANOVA. This study has been approved by the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board (HiREB). Insight into how model size affects anatomy learning will provide useful information for educators looking at printed 3D and virtual reality models used for educational purposes.Support or Funding InformationThis study was internally funded by the Education Program in Anatomy at McMaster University.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Four-year olds’ understanding of repeating and growing patterns and its association with early numerical ability

In this study, we aimed to address two gaps in research on early mathematical patterning, namely the lack of attention (1) to growing patterns and (2) to the association between different aspects of patterning and numerical ability. Participants were 400 four-year olds from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. Children’s patterning and numerical ability were assessed by means of individual tasks. The patterning tasks assessed their performance on three patterning activities (i.e., extending, translating, and identifying the pattern’s structure) for two types of patterns (i.e., repeating and growing). The numerical measure included a set of eight well-known numerical tasks. We additionally controlled for individual differences in spatial ability and visuospatial working memory. Results indicated an effect of both activity and patterning type on children’s patterning performance, as well as an interaction between both. Furthermore, children’s performance on four out of six patterning tasks uniquely contributed to their numerical ability above age, spatial ability, and visuospatial working memory. These findings support the importance of specific pattern types and patterning activities in the early stage of children’s mathematical development and give directions for further educational practices.

Does spatial skills instruction improve STEM outcomes? The answer is ‘yes’

Spatial cognition has long been the subject of research in psychology and education. Individual differences in spatial ability have been found between males and females. In this study, a test of spatial cognition was administered to >3000 first-year engineering students over a five-year period. Students were divided into experimental and control groups based on a pass/fail cutoff score on the spatial test. Students who failed the test were all assigned to a 1-credit spatial skills intervention course that met for one session per week over a semester; those who passed the test were assigned to the control group. A regression discontinuity analysis was used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. A treatment effect was found for performance in a variety of introductory courses and STEM GPAs, with a particularly positive effect in Engineering Problem Solving and Analysis. These effects were found through a discontinuity at the cutoff score, with the intervention group performing at higher levels than would be expected if they had not participated in the intervention. Retention data was also examined, and it was found that the intervention had a positive impact on the retention of women in engineering. The results of this study suggest that spatial skills instruction can also be used as a key component for improving gender diversity in the STEM fields - beyond improving course performance.

Spatial decision dynamics during wayfinding: intersections prompt the decision-making process

Intersections are critical decision points for wayfinders, but it is unknown how decision dynamics unfold during pedestrian wayfinding. Some research implies that pedestrians leverage available visual cues to actively compare options while in an intersection, whereas other research suggests that people strive to make decisions long before overt responses are required. Two experiments examined these possibilities while participants navigated virtual desktop environments, assessing information-seeking behavior (Experiment 1) and movement dynamics (Experiment 2) while approaching intersections. In Experiment 1, we found that participants requested navigation guidance while in path segments approaching an intersection and the guidance facilitated choice behavior. In Experiment 2, we found that participants tended to orient themselves toward an upcoming turn direction before entering an intersection, particularly as they became more familiar with the environment. Some of these patterns were modulated by individual differences in spatial ability, sense of direction, spatial strategies, and gender. Together, we provide novel evidence that deciding whether to continue straight or turn involves a dynamic, distributed decision-making process that is prompted by upcoming intersections and modulated by individual differences and environmental experience. We discuss implications of these results for spatial decision-making theory and the development of innovative adaptive, beacon-based navigation guidance systems.

Functional connectivity between posterior hippocampus and retrosplenial complex predicts individual differences in navigational ability.

Individuals vary widely in their ability to orient and navigate within the environment. Previous neuroimaging research has shown that hippocampus (HC) and scene-responsive regions (retrosplenial complex [RSC] and parahippocampal gyrus/parahippocampal place area [PPA]) were crucial for spatial orienting and navigation. Resting-state functional connectivity and a self-reported questionnaire of navigational ability were used to examine the hypothesis that the pattern of reciprocal connections between these regions reflects individual differences in spatial navigation. It was found that the functional connectivity between the posterior HC and RSC was significantly higher in good than in poor navigators. These results confirmed the crucial role of hippocampal and extra-hippocampal regions in spatial navigation and provided new insight into how spontaneous brain activity may account for individual differences in spatial ability. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Deadlines in space: Selective effects of coordinate spatial processing in multitasking.

Many everyday activities require coordination and monitoring of multiple deadlines. One way to handle these temporal demands might be to represent future goals and deadlines as a pattern of spatial relations. We examined the hypothesis that spatial ability, in addition to executive functioning, contributes to individual differences in multitasking. In two studies, participants completed a multitasking session in which they monitored four digital clocks running at different rates. In Study 1, we found that individual differences in spatial ability and executive functions were independent predictors of multiple-task performance. In Study 2, we found that individual differences in specific spatial abilities were selectively related to multiple-task performance, as only coordinate spatial processing, but not categorical, predicted multitasking, even beyond executive functioning and numeracy. In both studies, males outperformed females in spatial ability and multitasking and in Study 2 these sex differences generalized to a simulation of everyday multitasking. Menstrual changes moderated the effects on multitasking, in that sex differences in coordinate spatial processing and multitasking were observed between males and females in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, but not between males and females at menses. Overall, these findings suggest that multiple-task performance reflects independent contributions of spatial ability and executive functioning. Furthermore, our results support the distinction of categorical versus coordinate spatial processing, and suggest that these two basic relational processes are selectively affected by female sex hormones and differentially effective in transforming and handling temporal patterns as spatial relations in the context of multitasking.

Vision‐Based Spatial Abilities and Pictures of Objects Recognized from Haptic Perception

Objective. As a basis for an application in anatomy education, vision‐based spatial abilities have been previously correlated with a drawing score based on haptic perception of objects. The objective of the current study was to determine whether a picture could replace a drawing in correlating haptic perception of objects with vision‐based spatial abilities tests.Methods. A cohort of 48 medical graduates was enrolled in a prospective study. Spatial abilities were measured with a redrawn Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotations Tests in two (MRTA) and three (MRTC) dimensions and a Surface Development Test (SDT). Twenty‐five objects constructed from various shaped parts glued together were identified on a picture by participants after haptic perception. The maximum score was 24 for each of MRTA and MRTC, 60 for SDT, and 25 for the picture score. Descriptive statistics included median and lower and upper quartiles. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to compare the picture score to MRTA, MRTC and SDT scores.Results. The picture score [18 (12, 21)] was correlated with MRTA [14 (9, 17)], MRTC [9.5 (6.5, 12)] and SDT [44.5 (36, 53)] scores with a correlation of 0.427 (p = 0.0025), 0.539 (p < 0.0001) and 0.429 (p = 0.0024), respectively.ConclusionsVision‐based spatial abilities tests were correlated with pictures of objects recognized from haptic perception. Individual differences in spatial abilities as related to haptic perception have implications for education in the anatomy laboratory.This study was supported by an internal grant from the Department of Surgery, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.

Spatial Ability: A Neglected Talent in Educational and Occupational Settings

For over 60 years, longitudinal research on tens of thousands of high ability and intellectually precocious youth has consistently revealed the importance of spatial ability for hands-on creative accomplishments and the development of expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) disciplines. Yet, individual differences in spatial ability are seldom assessed for educational counseling and selection. Students especially talented in spatial visualization relative to their status on mathematical and verbal reasoning are particularly likely to be underserved by our educational institutions. Evidence for the importance of assessing spatial ability is reviewed and ways to utilize information about individual differences in this attribute in learning and work settings are offered. The literature reviewed stresses the importance of spatial ability in real-world settings and constitutes a rare instance in the social sciences where more research is not needed. What is needed is the incorporation of spatial ability into talent identification procedures and research on curriculum development and training, along with other cognitive abilities harboring differential—and incremental—validity for socially valued outcomes beyond IQ (or, g, general intelligence).

The topographical N170: Electrophysiological evidence of a neural mechanism for human spatial navigation

We recently demonstrated that the latency of a component of the event-related brain potential, the topographical N170 (NT170), is sensitive to the spatial location of reward-related stimuli in a virtual maze environment, occurring earlier for rewards found following rightward turns compared to leftward turns. We suggested that this NT170 latency effect may result from phase reset of an ongoing theta rhythm by a parahippocampal system for spatial navigation. Here we tested several predictions that follow from this proposal, namely, that the effect is observed only when the rewards are presented in a spatial environment, that it is sensitive to individual differences in spatial ability, that it is localizable to the right parahippocampal region, and that it is consistent with partial phase resetting of an ongoing theta rhythm. These results hold promise for integrating ERP measures of spatial navigation with extensive animal, human, and computational literatures on parahippocampal function.

Effects of Communication Methods on Communication Patterns and Performance in a Remote Spatial Orientation Task

An experiment was conducted to examine the impact of communication methods (text-only, audio-only, and audio-plus-video) on communication patterns and effectiveness in a 2-person remote spatial orientation task. The task required a pair of participants to figure out the cardinal direction of a target object by communicating spatial information and perspectives. Results showed that overall effectiveness in the audio-only condition was better than the text-only and audio-plus-video conditions, and communication patterns were more predictive of errors than individual differences in spatial abilities. Discourse analysis showed that participants in the audio-plus-video condition performed less mental transformation of spatial information when communicating, which led to more interpretation errors by the listener. Participants in the text-only conditions performed less confirmation and made more errors by misreading their own display. Results suggested that speakers in the audio-plus-video condition minimized effort by communicating spatial information based on their own perspective but speakers in the audio-only and text-only conditions would more likely communicate transformed spatial information. Analysis of gestures in the audio-plus-video condition confirmed that iconic gestures tended to co-occur with spatial transformation. Iconic gesture rates were negatively correlated with transformation errors, indicating that iconic gestures more likely co-occurred with successful communication of spatial transformation. Results show that when visual interactive feedback is available, speakers tend to adopt egocentric spatial perspectives to minimize effort in mental transformation and rely on the feedback to ensure that the hearer correctly interprets the information. When visual interactive feedback is not available, speakers will put more effort in transforming spatial information to help the hearer to understand the information. The current result demonstrated that allowing two persons to see and communicate with each other during a remote spatial reasoning task can lead to more errors because of the use of a suboptimal communication strategy.

Evaluating the effectiveness of orientation indicators with an awareness of individual differences

Understanding how users perceive 3D geometric objects can provide a basis for creating more effective tools for visualization in applications such as CAD or medical imaging. This article examines how orientation indicators affect users' accuracy in perceiving the shape of a 3D object shown as multiple views. Multiple views force users to infer the orientation of an object and recognize corresponding features between distinct vantage points. These are difficult tasks, and not all users are able to carry them out accurately. We use a cognitive experimental paradigm to evaluate the effectiveness of two types of orientation indicators on a person's ability to compare views of objects presented in different orientations. The orientation indicators implemented were colocated, which shared a center-point with the 3D object, or noncolocated with (displaced from) the 3D object. The study accounts for additional factors including object complexity, axis of rotation, and users' individual differences in spatial abilities. Our results show that an orientation indicator helps users in comparing multiple views, and that the effect is influenced by the type of aid, a person's spatial ability, and the difficulty of the task. In addition to establishing an effect of an orientation indicator, this article helps demonstrate the application of a particular experimental paradigm and analysis, as well as the importance of considering individual differences when designing interface aids.

Effects of Electronic Map Displays and Individual Differences in Ability on Navigation Performance

The aim of this study was to determine how strongly the performance of navigation tasks is affected by changing electronic map interfaces and by individual differences in spatial ability. Electronic map interfaces have two common configurations, north up and track up. Research suggests that north-up maps benefit some navigational tasks and track-up maps benefit others. However, little research has investigated how map configuration affects the important navigation task of judging cardinal direction or how individual differences in spatial ability interact with map configuration in affecting navigation performance. In an aerial reconnaissance task, 16 participants completed route-following, cardinal direction, and map reconstruction tasks. Participants also completed three spatial ability tests. The track-up map led to better performance on the cardinal direction and route-following tasks. The north-up map led to better performance on the map reconstruction task Effects of map configuration showed small to medium effect sizes. Spatial ability correlated positively with performance of each navigation task, showing medium to large effect sizes. For some tasks, a helpful map interface compensated for low ability. For other tasks, ability facilitated the performance of the helpful interface;optimal performance required a helpful interface and high ability. Achieving high performance at particular navigation subtasks requires two things: using the map configuration that optimizes subtask performance and having high spatial ability. Some aspects of navigation performance can be improved primarily by using the optimal map configuration; other aspects require using the optimal configuration and having better spatial ability.

Spatial Anxiety Relates to Spatial Abilities as a Function of Working Memory in Children

Spatial ability is a strong predictor of students' pursuit of higher education in science and mathematics. However, very little is known about the affective factors that influence individual differences in spatial ability, particularly at a young age. We examine the role of spatial anxiety in young children's performance on a mental rotation task. We show that even at a young age, children report experiencing feelings of nervousness at the prospect of engaging in spatial activities. Moreover, we show that these feelings are associated with reduced mental rotation ability among students with high but not low working memory (WM). Interestingly, this WM × spatial anxiety interaction was only found among girls. We discuss these patterns of results in terms of the problem-solving strategies that boys versus girls use in solving mental rotation problems.

Neural Encoding of Objects Relevant for Navigation and Resting State Correlations with Navigational Ability

Objects along a route can help us to successfully navigate through our surroundings. Previous neuroimaging research has shown that the parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) distinguishes between objects that were previously encountered at navigationally relevant locations (decision points) and irrelevant locations (nondecision points) during simple object recognition. This study aimed at unraveling how this neural marking of objects relevant for navigation is established during learning and postlearning rest. Twenty-four participants were scanned using fMRI while they were viewing a route through a virtual environment. Eye movements were measured, and brain responses were time-locked to viewing each object. The PHG showed increased responses to decision point objects compared with nondecision point objects during route learning. We compared functional connectivity between the PHG and the rest of the brain in a resting state scan postlearning with such a scan prelearning. Results show that functional connectivity between the PHG and the hippocampus is positively related to participants' self-reported navigational ability. On the other hand, connectivity with the caudate nucleus correlated negatively with navigational ability. These results are in line with a distinction between egocentric and allocentric spatial representations in the caudate nucleus and the hippocampus, respectively. Our results thus suggest a relation between navigational ability and a neural preference for a specific type of spatial representation. Together, these results show that the PHG is immediately involved in the encoding of navigationally relevant object information. Furthermore, they provide insight into the neural correlates of individual differences in spatial ability.

Effects of Spatial Ability on Multi-robot Control Tasks

Working with large teams of robots is a very complex and demanding task for any operator and individual differences in spatial ability could significantly affect that performance. In the present study, we examine data from two earlier experiments to investigate the effects of ability for perspective-taking on performance at an urban search and rescue (USAR) task using a realistic simulation and alternate displays. We evaluated the participants’ spatial ability using a standard measure of spatial orientation and examined the divergence of performance in accuracy and speed in locating victims, and perceived workload. Our findings show operators with higher spatial ability experienced less workload and marked victims more precisely. An interaction was found for the experimental image queue display for which participants with low spatial ability improved significantly in their accuracy in marking victims over the traditional streaming video display.