In research on cognitive issues in automation, spatial visualization ability (SVA) was investigated as a mediator of performance. Prior to performing the experimental task in a simulation environment, 83 undergraduate psychology students completed an on-line version of a test of SVA. The two basic experimental conditions were “monitoring” and “on-call.” In the monitoring condition, participants monitored status messages and responded to system alerts. In the on-call condition, participants performed an unrelated task in between responding to alerts. Dependent measures included decision accuracy. A correlational analysis of SVA scores with decision accuracy found a higher correlation for men than for women. Further analysis indicated that SVA was not a significantly stronger predictor of performance for men than it was for women in the simulated environment. With a larger sample size, however, differential prediction is likely. If confirmed, this finding has implications for the use of SVA in personnel selection. Textual and tabular alternatives to graphical displays may be helpful to low-SVA users.
