A study designed to investigate the relationship between spatial ability and selected social and emotional variables is presented. With the total sample of students in a freshman psychology course, and with the 48 females and 45 males separately, the relationship was investigated between spatial ability and participation in, and enjoyment of,…

Research has shown sex differences in performance favoring males are likely to be reported on cognitive tasks requiring spatial skills. It has also been suggested that the reason why individuals who describe themselves as masculine also tend to do well on spatial tasks may be a function of activity preference. To examine the relationship among…

A program of research was conducted to study transitions from preoperational to concrete operational forms of spatial imagery (area 1), to compare results from spatial imagery studies based on open-ended measures (such as drawings) with results based on reaction time measures (area 2), and to study anticipatory imagery in the contexts of memory…

Preliminary work by Theresa McMillen and George Bodner has shown significant correlations between level of spatial visualization and orientation ability and success in a chemistry course designed for science and engineering majors. This study is an in-depth replication of McMillen's work with approximately 1600 science and engineering majors…

Engineering students use spatial thinking when examining diagrams or models to study structure design. It is expected that most engineering students have solidified spatial thinking skills during K-12 schooling. However, according to what we know about geometry learning and teaching, spatial thinking probably needs to be explicitly taught within…

Written by teachers, the manual contains nine chapters designed to help regular and special education teachers teach social studies to handicapped students in the mainstreamed setting. Chapters have the following titles and authors: "Social Studies in the Mainstreamed Classroom, K-6" (A. Ochoa, S. Shuster); "My Place in Space--Painting Maps on…

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that Brunerian learning theory can provide the instructional designer with a framework for developing effective learning materials. To determine three levels of spatial ability, two standardized tests--the Spatial Visualization Test (SVT) of the Dailey Vocational Tests and part VI of the…

Recognizing that photography in the classroom is highly motivating in that it offers a unique vehicle for communicating ideas visually, this study was designed to isolate variables which can be both observed and evaluated in photographs and for which instruction can be designed. Relationships among the technical and aesthetic qualities in…

This study was designed to examine effects that access to manipulatives in science instruction have with respect to the development of spatial conceptual abilities and whether the effects were different for males and females. A secondary purpose of this investigation was to examine what relationship sex and access to manipulatives in conjunction…

This investigation used a clinical interview technique to identify the difficulties of kindergarten children who are unable to develop models or representations of simple arithmetic story problems. It is hypothesized that effective human problem solvers first generate some type of "physical model" and use this model to create a…

An aptitude-strategy interaction in linear syllogistic reasoning was tested on 144 undergraduate and graduate students of both sexes. It was hypothesized that the efficiency of each of four alternative strategies--control, visual, algorithmic, and mixed--would depend upon the subjects' pattern of verbal and spatial abilities. Two tests of verbal…

The development of young children's internal representations of large space was assessed by asking 15 boys and 15 girls to construct a three-dimensional model of their kindergarten classroom. Three groups of 10 children (ranging in age from 4 years, 8 months to 6 years, 3 months) were tested, two in the spring and one in the fall. One of the…

Thirty language-impaired, reading-impaired, and normal children, aged 6:8-8:10, were administered eight tasks in word repetition, rapid naming, syllable segmentation, paper folding, and form completion. Controls performed better than the subjects on all but two tasks, and the language-impaired and reading-impaired children performed comparably on…

Reports on a study in which two spatial tests were given to science and engineering majors and to students in nursing and agriculture at Purdue University (Indiana). Scores from the tests consistently contributed a small but significant amount of success on measures of performance in chemistry. (TW)

Compares 27 children with early onset diabetes (EOD) with 24 children with late onset diabetes (LOD) and 30 sibling controls in performance on tests of intellectual functioning and school achievement. Results revealed that duration of illness, age of onset, and hypoglycemic convulsions significantly predicted spatial ability. (Author/RWB)