Sarah Neuburger

Influence of rotational axis and gender-stereotypical nature of rotation stimuli on the mental-rotation performance of male and female fifth graders

The male advantage in the mental rotation of two- or three-dimensional objects in mind is well documented across various age groups. The current study examined the influence of task characteristics on this gender difference by comparing the mental rotation performance of 148 fifth-grade boys and girls in three stimulus conditions (male-stereotyped objects, female-stereotyped objects, Shepard and Metzlers cube figures) and two rotational-axis conditions (rotations in picture plane only vs. rotations in depth). In line with the hypotheses, boys slightly outperformed girls in the in-depth condition, but not in the picture-plane condition. Unexpectedly, however, boys tended to outperform girls in the female-objects task. Overall, results suggest that rotational axis is more influential in determining the gender difference than the stereotyped nature of the stimuli. Findings are discussed with regard to the influence of working memory on mental rotation.

Is the Male Advantage in Mental-Rotation Performance Task Independent? On the Usability of Chronometric Tests and Paper-and-Pencil Tests in Children.

This article presents a reanalysis of the data of 862 second and fourth graders collected in two previous studies, focusing on the influence of method (psychometric vs. chronometric) and stimulus type on the gender difference in mental-rotation accuracy. The children had to solve mental-rotation tasks with animal pictures, letters, or cube figures, either in a chronometric condition (computerized) or in a psychometric condition (paper-and-pencil). Results show a slight male advantage in mental-rotation accuracy, which is neither influenced by method nor by stimulus type. However, mental-rotation accuracy differed between the stimulus types, with the highest accuracy in animal pictures and the lowest accuracy in cube figures, and between age groups, with better performance in fourth graders than in second graders in both conditions. Results show that psychometric and chronometric mental-rotation tests with all the stimulus types are more or less similarly usable with children of that age.

The gender effect in 3D-Mental-rotation performance with familiar and gender-stereotyped objects – a study with elementary school children

ABSTRACT The study examined the influence of gender-stereotyped stimuli rotated in depth on children’s mental-rotation performance. Participants included 321 elementary school children who completed three-dimensional mental-rotation tasks with either male- or female-stereotyped stimuli (M-MRT-3D/F-MRT-3D). Results suggest that in-depth tasks are very difficult for second graders. No gender effect was found in the mental-rotation performance of 7- to 9-year-old children; however, task understanding indicates gender differences. For fourth graders, a significant interaction of gender and stimulus type could be demonstrated. Furthermore, results indicate that fourth-grade boys tend to guess more often in tasks with stimuli consistent to the respective own gender. In addition, regression analyses showed that next to grade and perceptual speed, the perceived level of stimulus familiarity predicted performance. Considering a possible link between dimensionality and familiarity, the influence of the gender-stereotyped stimuli on children’s confidence and task understanding as well as on transformational processes and strategy efficiency is discussed.

Pellet Figures, the Feminine Answer to Cube Figures? Influence of Stimulus Features and Rotational Axis on the Mental-Rotation Performance of Fourth-Grade Boys and Girls

Various studies have demonstrated the male advantage in mental-rotation tests. With the Shepard and Metzler [1] “Mental Rotation Test” the largest gender effect has been found. The present study investigated if gender differences in the MRT might be due to male characteristics of the cube figures. Therefore, 136 fourth graders solved a mental-rotation test with cube-figure items (C-MRT) and 150 fourth graders solved a novel test with pellet-figure items (P-MRT) in one of two rotational-axis conditions (rotations in picture plane vs. rotations in depth), respectively. In line with hypotheses, cube figures were male-stereotyped and pellet figures were female-stereotyped. Boys significantly outperformed girls only in tasks with cube figures rotated in-depth, while there was no significant gender effect found in the picture-plane conditions and for pellet figures rotated in-depth. So, there seems to be an influence of both, stimulus content and rotational axis on mental-rotation performance.