The present research investigates the role of individual differences in preference for adopting extrinsic frame of reference (EFR) in ability to represent mentally spatial information learned through survey and route descriptions. A sample of 191 participants (100 females and 91 males) was categorized as four groups with high (H-EFR), medium-high…

Spatial ability is important to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) success, but spatial talents are rarely developed in schools. Likewise, the gifted may become STEM innovators, but they are rarely provided with pedagogy appropriate to develop their abilities in schools. A stratified random sample of volunteer participants (n = 75)…

A robust finding in humans and animals is that intermixed exposure to 2 similar stimuli (AX/BX) results in better discriminability of those stimuli on test than does exposure to 2 equally similar stimuli in 2 separate blocks (CX_DX)--the intermixed-blocked effect. This intermixed-blocked effect may be an example of the superiority of spaced over…

Examined critical features of tactile and kinesthetic processes by administering 8 traditional psychometric instruments and 14 measures of tactile and kinesthetic perceptual processes to 116 female college students in Australia. Results show, as is consistent with earlier findings, that visual-spatial processes are difficult to separate from…

THE CHANGING ROLES OF THREE VISUAL-SPATIAL ABILITIES (SPATIAL ORIENTATION, VISUALIZATION, AND PERCEPTUAL SPEED) IN THE PERFORMANCE OF GROSS MOTOR SKILLS AT SUCCESSIVE STAGES DURING THE LEARNING PERIOD WERE STUDIED. THE SUBJECTS CONSISTED OF 48 WOMEN, AGES 17 TO 24, WHO WERE EQUALLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER OF TWO SECTIONS AND SUBDIVIDED INTO THREE…

The relationship between students' relative ability in visual-spatial tasks as well as their verbal and numerical skills to their performance in an introductory college chemistry course was investigated. For 700 subjects, verbal and mathematics Scholastic Aptitude Test scores (SAT-V) and (SAT-M) and the following four perceptual tests were…

Witkin's Embedded Figures Test (EFT) was used to measure the changes with age in field dependence and problem-solving ability. Qualitative data concerning problem-solving strategies and quantitative data were collected. EFT was administered to 12 females in each of the following decades: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s. All subjects were moderately…

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable perception instrument and to use the instrument to identify the significant perceptions of office work held by 10th grade female students enrolled in urban high schools serving disadvantaged youth, and to compare these perceptions with those held by 10th grade female students enrolled…

Surveys middle level female students (n=215) for their perceptions about the nature of science and the nature of the science classroom learning environment. Methodologies used in the study focus on the mental constructs that girls create from those perceptions as opposed to the views gained through teacher report, classroom observation, or…

Decision-making over time is an important aspect of adaptive social functioning. The main goal of this study was to investigate the development of this ability in young children. A simplified version of the Iowa Gambling Task was given to 69 children at 3 ages (3, 4, and 6 years). Children were also given an awareness test to assess their…