Research on the emergence of sex differences in spatial ability during early adolescence prompted a meta-analysis of 172 spatial ability studies conducted since 1974. The meta-analysis confirmed that there are actually several spatial abilities, that some types of spatial ability show marked sex differences while others show none, and that spatial…

Tested 63 kindergarten children on a spatial perspective task in which they copied the location and orientation of objects when the model and response spaces were aligned or when one was rotated 90 degrees or 180 degrees. (LLK)

Reports a study designed to investigate the effects of gender upon the acquisition of spatial and environmental skills among primary grade children. Results showed boys performed better on complex tasks and lend support to those who argue that more extensive movements of boys through the environment leads to superior spatial ability. (Author/JDH)

Compared head circumference and interaural distance in infants between birth and 22 weeks of age and in a small sample of preschool children and adults. Calculated changes in interaural time differences according to age. Found a large shift in distance. (SKC)

States that childrens' spatial conceptualization of maps progresses from topological to projective to Euclidean. Provides guidelines for conducting map activities with young children which take account of these and related factors. Recommends block play with verbalization for very young children, followed by mapping of familiar environments. (JDH)

Investigated were the effects of spatial training on calculus achievement, spatial visualization ability, and the use of visualization in solving problems on solids of revolution. Sex differences were found favoring women in calculus achievement and men in spatial visualization ability. (MNS)

Fourth-, sixth-, and eighth-grade children were tested with different methodologies for deriving measures of their knowledge of interlandmark distances and directions on their school campus. Overall results emphasized that measures derived from children's estimates of direction information were not comparable with measures derived from their…

Results suggest that infants' errors in searching for a visible object reflect lapses of attention rather than systematic misunderstandings of objects or space and so are not incompatible with an information-processing account of early search. (Author/RH)

A pilot study involving 16 visually handicapped children (6-14 years old) suggested that a new high-resolution acoustic sensory aid may be useful as a training aid for developing spatial perception. Tasks in spatial location, spatial orientation, and spatial transfer were executed using the spatial sensor in a classroom program. (Author/CL)

To explore the relationship between spatial ability and both image quality and image process efficiency, 79 subjects completed spatial tests, imagery questionnaires, and laboratory tasks. Laboratory measures of process efficiency and image quality were strongly related to spatial test performance and weakly related to one another. (Author/BW)

Studies involving normal, autistic, and Down's syndrome children focused on relationships between social competence, capacity to appreciate visuospatial perspectives, and certain cognitive abilities. Findings suggested that autistic Ss are not especially egocentric in their appreciation of visuospatial perspectives. (CL)

Young and older nursery school children were taken to three locations in their school and asked to point to five targets on the school grounds. Older children were more accurate than younger children, but children's spatial representations were relatively nonintegrated at both age levels. Consistent sex differences in favor of males were found.…

Longitudinal psychometric test data collected at two different ages (approximately 9.5 and 15 years) were utilized to compare the developmental rates of 69 pairs of reading-disabled and matched control children. Results indicated that reading-disabled children manifested deficits on measures of academic achievement, symbolic processing speed, and…

The author discusses the role of educational "crutches" that help elementary learning disabled children in tasks involving spatial orientation, visual perception, and auditory short-term memory. Teachers are cautioned to observe how children act in different situations and to allow them whatever "crutches" are effective. (CL)

Describes a study that attempted to determine whether males and females differ in their ways of solving industrial arts psychomotor assembly tasks. Results support the theory that there is a realistic difference in the way males and females think when solving psychomotor tasks. (NRJ)