When an older person confronts vision loss, the perceptual categories of space and time are disrupted. This forces newly blind older persons to question their ability to manipulate their environment and participate in social relationships. It makes them vulnerable to self-imposed tentativeness and externally generated labels of incompetence.…

Examines recent data on sex-related differences in science and mathematics achievement, discussing meta-analyses findings on attitudes, career choice, life/physical science preferences, and motivation. Indicates that spatial visualization appears to be very important and that girls more often attribute success to luck rather than skill. (DH)

A conceptual theory for predicting the relations between intellectual abilities and performance during task practice is proposed and is evaluated through an experiment with high school and college students. This macro-theory integrates hierarchical theories of intellectual abilities with information-processing theories of automatic and controlled…

Results of two studies indicate a tendency among young children to impose organization on information encoded in memory and in relation to increases in metric accuracy, decentration, and efficient scanning, which enable them to more accurately evaluate when such organization is and is not appropriate. (Author)

Relates how 16 "computer writers" felt about how they use the computer for writing tasks and reports on three experimental studies that compared the performance of college students reading texts displayed on a computer terminal screen and on a printed hard copy. Findings showed that visual/spatial factors influenced locational recall,…

A space-and-time orientation for interpreting Andre Gide's early twentieth-century novel is outlined and described, and exercises for further appreciation of literary elements are suggested. (MSE)

An information-processing model was tested for a laboratory visualization task that represents one adaptation of a standardized spatial ability test. The pattern of results suggests that individual differences are a function of differences in the accuracy and/or quality of the mental representation, not just speed of processing. (Author/BW)

Five computer-oriented classroom activities are suggested. They include: Logo programming to help students develop estimation, logic and spatial skills; creating flow charts; inputting data; making snowflakes using Logo; and developing and using a database management program. (JN)

Sex differences in cognitive skills, grouped into motor, spatial and linguistic areas, are assessed in relation to current theories of cerebral lateralization. Few convincing sex differences exist, either overall, or in interactions with functional localization. Qualifying criteria include age, birth order, culture, sex of experimenter and sex…

Three-dimensional visualization skills are critically important to success in engineering careers. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the 3-D spatial visualization skills of women engineering students lag significantly behind those of their male counterparts. This paper examines gender differences in background and in visualization ability for…

Spatial thinking is a cognitive skill that can be used in everyday life, the workplace, and science to structure problems, find answers, and express solutions using the properties of space. It can be learned and taught formally to students using appropriately designed tools, technologies, and curricula. This report explains the nature and…

The neuropsychological status and neuromotor performance of adolescent boys from lower-middle-class social environments who were detained as juvenile delinquents were compared to those of nondelinquent lower- and upper-middle-class controls. Principal aims were to investigate relationships between delinquency and learning disabilities,…

Two experiments investigated learners' procedures in acquiring knowledge from maps. The better learners used successful techniques for encoding spatial information, evaluating their progress, focusing attention on unlearned information, and partitioning the map by spatial region or concept. Visual memory ability was also important. (Author/GDC)

This article reviews two experiments on the mapping and planning of actual (campus buildings) and hypothetical (ideal town facilities) items in a two-dimensional space. Direct mapping (planning) techniques are preferred over the method of pair comparisons, especially for the actual environment. (See TM 504 879-880) (Author/CTM)

Using information contained in nine photographs, young children constructed a wooden pyramid. Control children were given the same task but no pictorial information. Children's performances were significantly better when pictorial information was available. Sex and age differences were noted regarding strategies used to complete the task.…