It is generally accepted that males are superior to females in spatial ability. To test this assumption, the Silver Drawing Test (SDT) was administered to students 12 to 15 years old (33 girls and 33 boys) attending public schools in Nebraska, New York, and Pennsylvania. No significant differences in spatial ability were found. (KW)

Visual-spatial orienting in 10 high-functioning adults with autism was examined. Compared to controls, subjects responded faster to central than to lateral stimuli, and showed a left visual field advantage for stimulus detection only when laterally presented. Abnormalities in attention shifting and coordination of attentional and motor systems are…

The construct validity of the Category Test (W. C. Halstead, 1947) was studied for 308 adults with heterogeneous cognitive dysfunction. Factor analysis indicated that Category subtests load on three factors distinct from intelligence: (1) symbol recognition/counting; (2) spatial position reasoning; (3) and proportional reasoning. Clinical…

Describes an activity inspired by the work of Nobel Prize winner Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin involving multilink blocks that helps students develop three-dimensional spatial skills. (YDS)

Presents the results from two meta-analyses of the Mozart Effect studies. Explains that in Christopher Chabris' meta-analyses, 16 studies with subjects (n=714) and 12 studies with subjects (n=522) were analyzed; while in the author's meta-analysis 36 studies with subjects (n=2,465) and 31 studies with subjects (n=2,089) were analyzed. (CMK)

Summarizes findings from research related to spatial abilities. Provided are suggestions for developing spatial abilities. Lists nine references. (YP)

Two authors introduce the topic of visualization in mathematics education. Fourteen articles are briefly described. (YP)

Examines the relationship between visualization and the middle school mathematics curriculum. Gives an overview of where and how visualization interacts with the curriculum. Investigates the role of visualization in developing inductive/deductive and proportional reasoning. (YP)

Three papers--comments, a reply to comments, and a rejoinder--discussing a conclusion about the nature of general intelligence based on the size loadings of a psychomotor test of discrimination reaction time are presented. The use of Spearman's "g" is the center of the controversy. (TJH)

The second response conditional probability model of decision-making strategies used by examinees answering multiple choice test items was revised. Increasing the number of distractors or providing distractors giving examinees (N=106) the option to follow the model improved results and gave a good fit to data for 29 of 30 items. (SLD)

A study involving 174 fifth- and sixth-grade students from two public elementary schools was conducted to determine the effects of Logo programing experience on students' problem solving and spatial relations abilities. Results indicate that LOGO programing contributes to student abilities in the two areas under observation. (TJH)

Attempts the theoretical rapprochement of two theoretical constructs on working memory, neo-Piagetian models and Baddeley's model. Summarizes both types of models, then discusses their similarities and differences. Presents the results of a longitudinal study that supported the idea that these models might be complementary rather than…

Spatial cognition entails the ability to mentally represent spatial relations and to anticipate the course and outcome of transformations applied to those relations. The developmental histories of four tasks used to assess the maturity of spatial cognition in children are described. Significant effects were found for age, gender, task, and for…

Assessed ability to perceive the distance at which an object is within reach. Results support early development of spatial decentralization and perspective taking, that is, allocentrism. (ETB)

Using data from the Swedish Individual Statistics Project, changes in intelligence among 13-year olds are documented over a 25-year period. The average spatial and reasoning intelligence has risen successively. A clear increase is found for verbal intelligence in the 1960s, with more irregular growth since then. (SLD)