Mental rotation and spatial reasoning abilities

Mental Rotation of Objects and Dimensionality - Conclusion

Confirmation of Hypotheses:

At the outset of this research study, we hypothesized that in terms of the ability to perform mental rotation of geometric shapes, reaction time (and overall ability in general would be strongly influenced by: (1) prior visual familiarity with the shape or object; and (2) whether the object was two-dimensional or three-dimensional. The results of the study suggest that prior visual familiarity with the object does correspond to better recognition and faster determination. The study also suggested that mental rotation of three-dimensional shapes is more difficult than mental rotation of two-dimensional shapes. In fact,

Additional Findings and Study Limitations:

In addition to confirming the two formal hypotheses, this study also revealed other findings that seem to pertain just as directly to the main implications of the research. Specifically, it appears that the ability to perform mental rotation is substantially a function of natural genetic intellectual talent (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008). . In fact, the least differential between two-dimensional and three-dimensional mental rotation ability was observed among those who were previously aware of being particularly good at related skills. In almost all cases, those individuals report having been particularly good at geometrical reasoning and spatial visualization since childhood (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2008).

One possible limitation in future studies into this area suggested by this study is that it may be difficult to distinguish the effects of prior recognition and innate ability. More specifically, among those subjects who are especially gifted in this area are also much more likely to have exploited those skills in several different areas of life (such as academics, 3-dimensional image manipulation in various recreational settings, etc.) Their current ability likely represents elements of both nature and nurture. One possible way of circumventing this potential limitation would be to focus on subjects who are not in the highest percentiles of known geometric visualization ability.

Scientific Implications:

According to contemporary scientists, eminent scientist like Galileo and Newton both owed some of their success to their innate ability to mentally visualize complex concepts and relationships (Atkins, 1995; Feynman, 1995). However, nobody in history exemplified the extent to which mental visualization facilitated both theoretical and experimental science than Albert Einstein (Atkins, 1995; Feynman, 1995).

Einstein visualized the interaction of masses in space in three dimensions and provided both a manner to diagram the interaction of mass and space as well as a mathematical description of gravity that would take decades for experimental science to reach the level of being able to test what Einstein first deuced visually (Feynman, 1995). In four dimensions. To understand the difficulties involved, one need only attempt to visualize in three dimensions (instead of two) the favorite representation of planetary gravitation using a flat rubber with matrix lines and differentially weighted spheres warping the rubber sheet to depict the warping of space by gravity. However, the concept that the shapes depict actually occurs in three dimensions. In two dimensions, the smaller sphere spirals into the depression formed by the larger very quickly; in three dimensions, the planets fall toward one another without spiraling together except over billions of years (Feynman, 1995).

Even more astonishing than having visualized gravity independently, Einstein visualized traveling along on a beam of light in four dimensions that also included the dimension of time, which allowed Einstein to deduce fundamental properties of space, time, and their interaction for the first time in human history. Nearly a century later, what began as visual "thought experiments" in one man's mind continue to be monumentally important in modern science and human history and affairs on earth and beyond earth.

Applications of Three-Dimensional Rotation in Chemistry and Biology:

The ability to mentally visualize three-dimensional shapes and their movement is also applicable in chemistry and biological sciences (Atkins, 1995). Specifically, the age of electron microscopes revealed that whereas atomic motion is a function of quantum mechanics, molecular motion is largely a function the three-dimensional geometry of molecular shape (Atkins, 1995). In that regard, the molecular bonding processes exhibit relationships that are equally intuitive (such as the way certain molecules fit together in matched "male" and "female" pairs). But molecular bonding also reveals other tendencies that are counterintuitive as well, (such as the evidence of "right-handedness" of many molecules in nature). Those concepts have already been incorporated into medical research into understanding various aspects of genetic illness. In some of the newest research modalities, the ability to perform mental visualization of the type represented by mental rotation research requires individuals with that talent more than ever (Atkins, 1995).