Spatial Task Performance, Sex Differences, and Motion Sickness Susceptibility

2002 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max E. Levine ◽  
Robert M. Stern
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Motion Sickness ◽  
Spatial Ability ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Spatial Task ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Questionnaire Score

There are substantial individual differences in susceptibility to motion sickness, yet little is known about what mediates these differences. Spatial ability and sex have been suggested as possible factors in this relationship. 89 participants (57 women) were administered a Motion Sickness Questionnaire that assesses motion sickness susceptibility, a Water-level Task that gauges sensitivity to gravitational upright, and a mental Rotation Task that tests an individual's awareness of how objects typically move in space. Significant sex differences were observed in performance of both the Water-level Task ( p<.01), and the Mental Rotation Task ( p<.005), with women performing less accurately than men. Women also had significantly higher scores on the Motion Sickness Questionnaire ( p<.005) Among men, but not women, significant negative relationships were observed between Water-level Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score ( p<.001) and between Mental Rotation Task performance and Motion Sickness Questionnaire score ( p<.005). In conclusion, women performed significantly more poorly than men did on the spatial ability tasks and reported significantly more bouts of motion sickness. In audition, men showed a significant negative relationship between spatial ability and motion sickness susceptibility.

scholarly journals The prestimulus default mode network state predicts cognitive task performance levels on a mental rotation task

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e01186
Author(s):  
Tabea Kamp ◽  
Bettina Sorger ◽  
Caroline Benjamins ◽  
Lars Hausfeld ◽  
Rainer Goebel
Keyword(s):  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Default Mode Network ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Performance Levels ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Network State ◽  
Cognitive Task Performance

Sex Differences in Mental Rotation Performance Through Holding Weights By the Hands

2020 ◽  
pp. 027623662095233
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Muto ◽  
Soyogu Matsushita ◽  
Kazunori Morikawa
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Embodied Cognition ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Sensorimotor Processes

Mental rotation is known to be mediated by sensorimotor processes. To deepen our understanding of the role of somatosensory inputs in mental rotation, we investigated the effects of holding weight by the hands on mental rotation performance. In an experiment, 22 male and 22 female students performed a chronometric mental rotation task while holding either light or heavy bags in both hands. Results showed that females holding heavy bags were quicker and more accurate at mental rotation than females holding light bags, as evidenced by shallower slopes for response times (RTs) and error rates. In contrast, males showed no such heavy-bag-induced improvement. Unlike slopes, intercepts for RTs and error rates were equivalent regardless of sex and bag weight. Consistent with previous research on embodied cognition, the present findings demonstrated the facilitatory role of somatosensory cues by weight in mental rotation and suggested sex differences in embodied processes in mental rotation.

Sex Differences in Verbal and Spatial Ability Reconsidered in Relation to Body Size Lung Volume, and Sex Hormones

2003 ◽  
Vol 96 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1347-1360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Üner Tan ◽  
Mukadder Okuyan ◽  
Tugba Albayrak ◽  
Ahmet Akgun
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Mental Rotation ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Sex Hormones ◽  
Lung Volume ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Mental Rotation Task ◽  
Intelligence Test ◽  
Better Than

Sex differences in verbal and nonverbal abilities were reconsidered in relation to bodily measures and sex hormones in Turkish university students. Perceptual-verbal ability was evaluated using As Test. To assess the nonverbal abilities, the mental rotation test and Cattell's Culture Fair Intelligence Test were used. As expected, the 53 women performed better than men on the As Test; 79 men had a higher mean than the 53 women on the mental rotation task; there was no sex difference on Cattell's IQ Test. Cattell IQs correlated only with tidal volume of lungs. Scores on the As Test did not show significant correlations with body size and lung capacities. Mental rotation was significantly correlated with height, weight, and lung volume. With covariates of height, weight, and vital capacity, sex differences in mental rotation completely disappeared, but the difference on the As Test increased while Cattell IQ remained sex-neutral. With testosterone as covariate, the sex difference on the As test increased but on the mental rotation task disappeared; Cattell IQ was sex-neutral. With covariates of estradiol and progesterone, sex differences on the As test disappeared; mental rotation scores and Cattell IQ were not influenced. Under a combined covariation of height, weight, and testosterone, sex differences in mental rotation reversed, women scoring better than men; after adding estradiol or progesterone instead of testosterone to this model, sex differences on mental rotation completely disappeared, but verbal ability and Cattell IQ were not changed. These results suggest that Cattell's Culture Fair Intelligence Test is unique in resistance to sex differences; perceptual-verbal ability was the most sex-specific mental trait but with dependence on estradiol; mental rotation, on the contrary, was least sex-specific, depending on body size, lung volume, sex hormones, and their combined actions, which explains women's better performance.

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