Developmental trajectories of mental rotation abilities across adolescence

Background. The analysis of developmental trajectories of visuospatial abilities in individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) remains an unexplored field of investigation to examine in depth. The study aimed to fill such a gap by examining changes in two visuospatial abilities: spatial visualization (the ability to manage spatial stimuli) and mental rotation (the ability to rotate spatial stimuli). Method. Eighty-seven participants with DS, aged between 7 and 53 years (forty-seven males and forty females), completed spatial visualization and mental rotation tasks. Changes in these two abilities were analyzed in relation to chronological age and developmental level, the latter derived from Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices. Results. Chronological age was linearly associated with spatial visualization performance, whereas mental rotation performance increased until 14 years of age and then decreased. Developmental level was linearly associated with increased performance in spatial visualization, the trend in mental rotation was segmented with an increase after 5 years of age. Furthermore, developmental trajectories in mental rotation depended on the rotation degree. Conclusion. Chronological age explains a modest quote of variance. Developmental level better describes changes in spatial visualization and mental rotation of individuals with DS.

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Age Norms for Auditory-Perceptual Neurophonetic Parameters: A Prerequisite for the Assessment of Childhood Dysarthria

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2020_jslhr-19-00114 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (4) ◽

pp. 1071-1082

Author(s):

Theresa Schölderle ◽

Elisabet Haas ◽

Wolfram Ziegler

Keyword(s):

Assessment Tool ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Voice Quality ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Age Norms ◽

Elementary School Age ◽

Speech Characteristics ◽

Substantial Progress ◽

Computer Based

Purpose The aim of this study was to collect auditory-perceptual data on established symptom categories of dysarthria from typically developing children between 3 and 9 years of age, for the purpose of creating age norms for dysarthria assessment. Method One hundred forty-four typically developing children (3;0–9;11 [years;months], 72 girls and 72 boys) participated. We used a computer-based game specifically designed for this study to elicit sentence repetitions and spontaneous speech samples. Speech recordings were analyzed using the auditory-perceptual criteria of the Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales, a standardized German assessment tool for dysarthria in adults. The Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales (scales and features) cover clinically relevant dimensions of speech and allow for an evaluation of well-established symptom categories of dysarthria. Results The typically developing children exhibited a number of speech characteristics overlapping with established symptom categories of dysarthria (e.g., breathy voice, frequent inspirations, reduced articulatory precision, decreased articulation rate). Substantial progress was observed between 3 and 9 years of age, but with different developmental trajectories across different dimensions. In several areas (e.g., respiration, voice quality), 9-year-olds still presented with salient developmental speech characteristics, while in other dimensions (e.g., prosodic modulation), features typically associated with dysarthria occurred only exceptionally, even in the 3-year-olds. Conclusions The acquisition of speech motor functions is a prolonged process not yet completed with 9 years. Various developmental influences (e.g., anatomic–physiological changes) shape children's speech specifically. Our findings are a first step toward establishing auditory-perceptual norms for dysarthria in children of kindergarten and elementary school age. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12133380

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Enhancing Spatial Ability Through Sport Practice

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000075 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 83-88 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

David Moreau ◽

Jérome Clerc ◽

Annie Mansy-Dannay ◽

Alain Guerrien

Keyword(s):

Mental Rotation ◽

Spatial Representations ◽

Mental Rotation Test ◽

Sport Training ◽

Sport Practice ◽

Undergraduate University Students ◽

Before And After ◽

Cognitive Plasticity ◽

Reported Data ◽

The Relationship

This experiment investigated the relationship between mental rotation and sport training. Undergraduate university students (n = 62) completed the Mental Rotation Test ( Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978 ), before and after a 10-month training in two different sports, which either involved extensive mental rotation ability (wrestling group) or did not (running group). Both groups showed comparable results in the pretest, but the wrestling group outperformed the running group in the posttest. As expected from previous studies, males outperformed women in the pretest and the posttest. Besides, self-reported data gathered after both sessions indicated an increase in adaptive strategies following training in wrestling, but not subsequent to training in running. These findings demonstrate the significant effect of training in particular sports on mental rotation performance, thus showing consistency with the notion of cognitive plasticity induced from motor training involving manipulation of spatial representations. They are discussed within an embodied cognition framework.

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The Solution Strategy as an Indicator of the Developmental Stage of Preschool Children’s Mental-Rotation Ability

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000017 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 95-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Claudia Quaiser-Pohl ◽

Anna M. Rohe ◽

Tobias Amberger

Keyword(s):

Preschool Children ◽

Mental Rotation ◽

Latent Class ◽

Preschool Age ◽

Stage Model ◽

Solution Strategy ◽

Thinking Aloud ◽

Transition Analysis ◽

Solution Strategies ◽

Close Relationship

The solution strategies of preschool children solving mental-rotation tasks were analyzed in two studies. In the first study n = 111 preschool children had to demonstrate their solution strategy in the Picture Rotation Test (PRT) items by thinking aloud; seven different strategies were identified. In the second study these strategies were confirmed by latent class analysis (LCA) with the PRT data of n = 565 preschool children. In addition, a close relationship was found between the solution strategy and children’s age. Results point to a stage model for the development of mental-rotation ability as measured by the PRT, going from inappropriate strategies like guessing or comparing details, to semiappropriate approaches like choosing the stimulus with the smallest angle discrepancy, to a holistic or analytic strategy. A latent transition analysis (LTA) revealed that the ability to mentally rotate objects can be influenced by training in the preschool age.

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Gender Differences in the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) Are Not Due to Task Complexity

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001.29.3.130 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 130-133 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Corinna Titze ◽

Martin Heil ◽

Petra Jansen

Keyword(s):

Gender Differences ◽

Mental Rotation ◽

Task Complexity ◽

Time Constraints ◽

Medium Effects ◽

Performance Factors ◽

Mental Rotations ◽

Sufficient Power ◽

Forced Choice Tasks ◽

Choice Tasks

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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Individual Differences in Mental Rotation

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000184 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 60 (3) ◽

pp. 164-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Peter Khooshabeh ◽

Mary Hegarty ◽

Thomas F. Shipley

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Mental Rotation ◽

Response Times ◽

Task Demands ◽

Mental Rotation Task ◽

Imagery Ability ◽

Alternative Strategies

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that imagery ability and figural complexity interact to affect the choice of mental rotation strategies. Participants performed the Shepard and Metzler (1971) mental rotation task. On half of the trials, the 3-D figures were manipulated to create “fragmented” figures, with some cubes missing. Good imagers were less accurate and had longer response times on fragmented figures than on complete figures. Poor imagers performed similarly on fragmented and complete figures. These results suggest that good imagers use holistic mental rotation strategies by default, but switch to alternative strategies depending on task demands, whereas poor imagers are less flexible and use piecemeal strategies regardless of the task demands.

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