Spatial Visualization Ability
Encyclopedia
Spatial visualization ability or Visual-spatial ability is the ability to mentally manipulate 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional
figures. It is typically measured with simple cognitive test
s and is predictive of user performance with some kinds of user interface
s.
tasks and cognitive tests like the VZ-1 (Form Board), VZ-2 (Paper Folding), and VZ-3 (Surface Development) tests from the Kit of Factor-Reference cognitive tests produced by Educational Testing Service
. Though the descriptions of spatial visualization and mental rotation sound similar, mental rotation is a particular task that can be accomplished using spatial visualization.
The Form Board test
involves giving participants a shape and a set of smaller shapes. They are then instructed to determine which combination of small shapes will fill the larger shape completely without overlapping.
The Paper Folding test involves showing participants a sequence of folds in a piece of paper, through which a set of holes is then punched. The participants must choose which of a set of unfolded papers with holes corresponds to the one they have just seen.
The Surface Development test involves giving participants a flat shape with numbered sides and a three-dimensional shape with lettered sides and asking the participants to indicate which numbered side corresponds to which lettered side.
appear. It has also been found that spatial ability correlates with verbal ability in women but not in men, suggesting that women may use different strategies for spatial visualization tasks than men do. However, spatial ability is correlated with video games and other such activities, and thus gender difference in spatial ability may be linked to a difference in spatial experience, rather than actual difference in innate spatial ability. Indeed, University of Toronto researchers have discovered that differences between men and women on some tasks that require spatial skills are largely eliminated after both groups play a video game for only a few hours. This research was published in the October 2007 issue of Psychological Science.
s (though architects still perform better on the measures than non-architects of the same age). It is, however, possible that the types of spatial visualization used by architects are not measured accurately by the tests.
. This performance difference does not mean that users with low spatial visualization ability cannot find information, but that they tend to be slower at doing so. Spatial visualization ability is also not completely static; it can be improved with practice. However, since the onus in the design of computer systems is on the designer to provide systems that can be used by the majority of users or customers, compensating for low spatial abilities in the target populations is generally considered to be a good idea.
Interventions that help out those with low spatial abilities on the World Wide Web include spatial organizers like site map
s and site structure previews, which can improve the performance of people with lower spatial visualization ability while not hurting those with higher spatial visualization ability. Improving the interface apparency
by reducing the number of hidden dependencies between actions also improves the performance of low Spatial Visualization individuals while increasing the performance of high Spatial Visualization individuals to a slightly lesser degree.
In 1987, Kim Vicente
and colleagues ran a battery of cognitive tests on a set of participants and then determined which cognitive abilities correlated with performance on a computerized information search task. They found that the only significant predictors of performance were vocabulary
and spatial visualization ability, and that those with high spatial visualization ability were twice as fast to perform the task as those with lower levels of spatial visualization ability.
Three-dimensional space
Three-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...
figures. It is typically measured with simple cognitive test
Cognitive test
Cognitive tests are assessments of the cognitive capabilities of humans and animals. Tests administered to humans include various forms of IQ tests; those administered to animals include the mirror test and the T maze test...
s and is predictive of user performance with some kinds of user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
s.
Measurement
The cognitive tests used to measure spatial visualization ability include mental rotationMental rotation
Mental rotation is the ability to rotate mental representations of two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects.-Introduction:Mental rotation is somewhat localized to the right cerebral hemisphere. It is thought to take place largely in the same areas as perception...
tasks and cognitive tests like the VZ-1 (Form Board), VZ-2 (Paper Folding), and VZ-3 (Surface Development) tests from the Kit of Factor-Reference cognitive tests produced by Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service , founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization...
. Though the descriptions of spatial visualization and mental rotation sound similar, mental rotation is a particular task that can be accomplished using spatial visualization.
The Form Board test
Minnesota Paper Form Board Test
Minnesota Paper Form Board Test is said to test “imagery capacity”, “spatial visualization”,“mental visualizationskills” “part–whole relationship skills” and “the ability of an...
involves giving participants a shape and a set of smaller shapes. They are then instructed to determine which combination of small shapes will fill the larger shape completely without overlapping.
The Paper Folding test involves showing participants a sequence of folds in a piece of paper, through which a set of holes is then punched. The participants must choose which of a set of unfolded papers with holes corresponds to the one they have just seen.
The Surface Development test involves giving participants a flat shape with numbered sides and a three-dimensional shape with lettered sides and asking the participants to indicate which numbered side corresponds to which lettered side.
Gender differences
Men on average have a standard deviation higher spatial intelligence quotient than women. This domain is one of the few where clear sex differences in cognitionSex and intelligence
Research on sex and psychology investigates cognitive and behavioral differences between men and women. This research employs experimental tests of cognition, which take a variety of forms. Tests focus on possible differences in areas such as IQ, spatial reasoning, and emotion.Most IQ tests are...
appear. It has also been found that spatial ability correlates with verbal ability in women but not in men, suggesting that women may use different strategies for spatial visualization tasks than men do. However, spatial ability is correlated with video games and other such activities, and thus gender difference in spatial ability may be linked to a difference in spatial experience, rather than actual difference in innate spatial ability. Indeed, University of Toronto researchers have discovered that differences between men and women on some tasks that require spatial skills are largely eliminated after both groups play a video game for only a few hours. This research was published in the October 2007 issue of Psychological Science.
Age differences
Older adults tend to perform worse on measures of spatial visualization ability than younger adults, and this effect seems to occur even among people who use spatial visualization frequently on the job, such as architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s (though architects still perform better on the measures than non-architects of the same age). It is, however, possible that the types of spatial visualization used by architects are not measured accurately by the tests.
Human-computer interaction
In Human-Computer Interaction, differences in spatial visualization ability lead to certain users performing more efficiently than others at information search and information retrievalInformation retrieval
Information retrieval is the area of study concerned with searching for documents, for information within documents, and for metadata about documents, as well as that of searching structured storage, relational databases, and the World Wide Web...
. This performance difference does not mean that users with low spatial visualization ability cannot find information, but that they tend to be slower at doing so. Spatial visualization ability is also not completely static; it can be improved with practice. However, since the onus in the design of computer systems is on the designer to provide systems that can be used by the majority of users or customers, compensating for low spatial abilities in the target populations is generally considered to be a good idea.
Interventions that help out those with low spatial abilities on the World Wide Web include spatial organizers like site map
Site map
A site map is a list of pages of a web site accessible to crawlers or users. It can be either a document in any form used as a planning tool for web design, or a web page that lists the pages on a web site, typically organized in hierarchical fashion...
s and site structure previews, which can improve the performance of people with lower spatial visualization ability while not hurting those with higher spatial visualization ability. Improving the interface apparency
Interface apparency
Interface apparency refers to the degree to which the user interface enables a user to understand hidden contingencies within a computer system; in other words, how easy it is for a person coming upon an interface to understand the sequence of steps to perform a complex action using that...
by reducing the number of hidden dependencies between actions also improves the performance of low Spatial Visualization individuals while increasing the performance of high Spatial Visualization individuals to a slightly lesser degree.
History
Spatial visualization ability itself is not new. The construct of spatial visualization ability was first identified as a separate thing from general intelligence in the 20th Century, and its implications for computer system design were identified in the 1980s.In 1987, Kim Vicente
Kim Vicente
Kim Vicente is a professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. He is researcher, teacher, and author in the field of human factors. He is best known for his two books: The Human Factor and Cognitive Work Analysis....
and colleagues ran a battery of cognitive tests on a set of participants and then determined which cognitive abilities correlated with performance on a computerized information search task. They found that the only significant predictors of performance were vocabulary
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
and spatial visualization ability, and that those with high spatial visualization ability were twice as fast to perform the task as those with lower levels of spatial visualization ability.