Coordinate Axes and Mental Rotation Tasks: A Solomon Four Group Design

Authors

  • Theodore J. Branoff North Carolina State University

Abstract

During the 1998 fall semester at North Carolina State University, a study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of adding coordinate axes to a mental rotations task.  This study was a followup to a study conducted in the 1997 fall semester (Branoff, 1998).  Undergraduate students enrolled in introductory graphic communications courses completed a computer version of the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test - Visualization of Rotations (Guay, 1980).  The instrument was used to record student responses and response times as well as information on gender, current major, number of previous graphics courses completed, and method used to solve the test items.  Coordinate axes were added to portions of the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test for three of the four treatment groups to determine if the axes provided contextual cues necessary to improve scores and response times.  It was hypothesized that coordinate axes would provide verbal cues that could be coded along with nonverbal information to improve mental rotation efficiency.  A Solomon Four Group Design was used to assess the effect of the coordinate axes, determine the effect of pretest sensitization, and assess interaction between the pretest and posttest conditions.

Issue

Vol. 63 No. 3 (1999): Autumn

Section

Feature Articles
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