Explored relationships among three measures of spatial ability--Embedded Figures Test, Mental Rotations Test, and Differential Aptitude Spatial Relations subtest--an environmental cognition task, American College Testing mathematics and English achievement in undergraduates (N=282). Interpreted results as substantiating sex role socialization…

Reports two experiments evaluating the effect of map feature content on text recall by subjects of varying reading skill levels. Finds that both experiments support the conjoint retention hypothesis, in which dual-coding of spatial and verbal information and their interaction in memory enhance recall. (MM)

This article addresses issues of orientation and mobility for students with visual impairments, including the perception of motion, visual mechanisms of binocular coordination, perception of impending collision, and body movement to avoid collision. Emphasis is on the role of binocular coordination ability and acuity. These concepts were evaluated…

Spatial language in English and American Sign Language (ASL) was compared by asking 10 native signers and 10 English speakers to solve a set of spatial puzzles. The study highlights the ramifications of a linguistic system in which space itself is used to convey spatial information compared to one that conveys the same information via an auditory…

Examined how children's and adults' initial conceptions of objects and space influence predictions about the physical world, but lead the naive person to misconstrue a dynamic event. Found that participants proficiently anticipated where an oscillating screen would contact a hidden object, but underestimated the distance until contact.…

Ninety-three children (ages 10-12) were compared on phonological and visuospatial abilities. Children with a reading disability performed worse than nondisabled children on many visual and eye movement tasks. Sixty-eight percent of the variance in reading ability could be predicted by combining visual and phonological scores in a multiple…

Six experiments assessed young children's spatial orientation relative to their imagined surroundings. The experiments found that children as young as 3.5 years were able, like adults, to accurately walk along a path that replicated the route between their seat and the teacher's desk in their preschool classroom. (MDM)

Describes a framework called scaffolded knowledge integration and illustrates how it guided the design of two successful course enhancements in the field of computer science and engineering: the LISP Knowledge Integration Environment and the spatial reasoning environment. (101 references) (Author/MKR)

Investigated effects of spatial and literacy content on learning through social interaction. Pairs of kindergarten children in three interaction episodes solved spatial and literacy problems. Gains were made in spatial understanding independent of the type of social interaction used. Spatial understanding appeared to be affected more by how…

A series of spatial tasks involving conceptualization and manipulation of unfamiliar plane shapes administered to (n=20) children aged 4 to 12 revealed that both initial perception of a shape and approach to task solution strongly influenced children's success at shape recognition. (20 references) (Author/MKR)

Presents sample activities and tasks conducive to developing spatial sense. (12 references) (MKR)

The role of the hippocampus in memory function is discussed. Work with rats, monkeys, and humans largely agrees concerning its function and structure. The hippocampus is essential for a type of memory designated "declarative," the ability to remember that a visual object was presented in a particular context. (SLD)

Three experiments involving 102 college students examined the impact of knowledge map configuration on acquisition of information. Variations in spatial configuration, map format, and link structure affected encoding and retrieval of information. These effects were mediated by the users' spatial and verbal abilities. (SLD)

This study used saccadic eye movements to assess visuospatial attention in 53 normal children (ages 8-15). Saccadic latency, the ability to suppress extraneous saccades during fixation, and the ability to inhibit task-provoked anticipatory saccades all improved with age. Developmental patterns varied by task. Analyses of age-related changes may be…

The accuracy and bias of estimates of whisker length based on box, line, and midgap plots were examined. For each type of graph, 20 different undergraduates (n=60) viewed 48 single-plot graphs. Whisker-length estimates for box and line plots were more accurate and less biased than those for midgap plots. (TJH)