Type of items and the magnitude of gender differences on the Mental Rotations Test.

Gender differences are one of the main topics in mental rotation research. This paper focuses on the influence of the performance factor task complexity by using two versions of the Mental Rotations Test (MRT). Some 300 participants completed the test without time constraints, either in the regular version or with a complexity reducing template creating successive two-alternative forced-choice tasks. Results showed that the complexity manipulation did not affect the gender differences at all. These results were supported by a sufficient power to detect medium effects. Although performance factors seem to play a role in solving mental rotation problems, we conclude that the variation of task complexity as realized in the present study did not.

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Gender differences on the mental rotations test: a factor analysis

Acta Psychologica ◽

10.1016/j.actpsy.2004.05.003 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 117 (1) ◽

pp. 79-94 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Daniel Voyer ◽

Kristin A Saunders

Keyword(s):

Gender Differences ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Mental Rotations

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Confidence and gender differences on the Mental Rotations Test

Learning and Individual Differences ◽

10.1016/j.lindif.2007.03.009 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 181-186 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Amanda Cooke-Simpson ◽

Daniel Voyer

Keyword(s):

Gender Differences ◽

Mental Rotations ◽

And Gender

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Gymnasts and Orienteers Display Better Mental Rotation Performance Than Nonathletes

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000180 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Mirko Schmidt ◽

Fabienne Egger ◽

Mario Kieliger ◽

Benjamin Rubeli ◽

Julia Schüler

Keyword(s):

Gender Differences ◽

Mental Rotation ◽

Mental Rotations ◽

Endurance Runners

Abstract. The aim of this study was to examine whether athletes differ from nonathletes regarding their mental rotation performance. Furthermore, it investigated whether athletes doing sports requiring distinguishable levels of mental rotation (orienteering, gymnastics, running), as well as varying with respect to having an egocentric (gymnastics) or an allocentric perspective (orienteering), differ from each other. Therefore, the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) was carried out with 20 orienteers, 20 gymnasts, 20 runners, and 20 nonathletes. The results indicate large differences in mental rotation performance, with those actively doing sports outperforming the nonathletes. Analyses for the specific groups showed that orienteers and gymnasts differed from the nonathletes, whereas endurance runners did not. Contrary to expectations, the mental rotation performance of gymnasts did not differ from that of orienteers. This study also revealed gender differences in favor of men. Implications regarding a differentiated view of the connection between specific sports and mental rotation performance are discussed.

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Gender Differences in the Mental Rotations Test Are Partly Explained by Response Format

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000019 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 106-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Judith Glück ◽

Claudia Fabrizii

Keyword(s):

Gender Differences ◽

Time Pressure ◽

Variable Number ◽

High Time ◽

Response Format ◽

Response Strategies ◽

Mental Rotations

Gender differences in the Mental Rotations Test ( Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978 ) are larger than in virtually all other spatial tests and have been highly robust over decades. Several possible explanations for this phenomenon have been proposed. This research tests the hypothesis that the gender differences are partly due to the response format of the MRT (two out of four responses correct in each item). This format, in combination with the high time pressure of the MRT, may be particularly conducive to the performance of highly confident (i.e., frequently male) participants who use “quick-and-dirty” response strategies. In study of 288 students, a new MRT version was used in which a variable number of 0 to 4 alternatives per item were correct. Gender differences were significantly smaller than in the standard MRT. In particular, the performance of highly confident male participants was markedly lower than in the standard MRT.

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