Effects of Long-Term Practice and Training on Mental Rotation

This longitudinal study addressed questions about §improvement and gender differences in mental §rotation; what is the shape of long-term growth in §mental rotation ability, and does that differ for §men and women; can videogame training enhance mental §rotation ability above simple practice effects; are §there gender differences in experience and effects §of videogame training; are practice and training §effects durable, and can they transfer to other §mental rotation tasks? Undergraduates participated §in longitudinal practice with the Mental Rotations §Test (MRT) and played videogames. Results showed §large improvements in mental rotation with both §practice and training. Videogame training led to §greater initial growth than practice alone, but §final performance did not reliably differ. However, §videogame training did transfer to two other spatial §tasks. Mental rotation ability between men and women §did not converge over time, but men and women showed §different growth patterns. Though gender differences §in mental rotation ability appear robust, the §effects of spatial experience and videogame training §cannot be ignored.