13 Questions
What is mental rotation?
The ability to manipulate object representations in our minds
According to the article by Shepard and Metzler, what percentage of responses were incorrect on average?
5.7%
According to the article by Shepard and Metzler, What is the overall mean reaction time for the 'different' pairs?
3.8 seconds
What type of rotation is depicted in Figure 2B in the Shepard and Metzler article?
Rotation in depth
What type of rotation is depicted in Figure 2A in the Shepard and Metzler article?
Rotation in the picture plane
What type of images were used in the Shepard & Metzler (1971) experiment?
3-dimensional block segments
According to the article by Shepard and Metzler, what is the average rate at which the particular objects can be 'rotated' in three dimensional space?
60° per second
What did participants have to do before comparing the objects in the Shepard & Metzler (1971) experiment?
Mentally rotate the objects
What is the difference between mirror images and same shape images?
Mirror images are not exactly the same
What did Cooper & Shepard (1973) find in their study regarding the relationship between the angle of rotation and reaction time?
The angle of rotation had a direct relationship with reaction time.
According to Cooper & Shepard (1973), what determines the time course of mental rotation?
The absolute angle of rotation
In the study by Cooper & Shepard (1973), what range of rotation values did they use for familiar stimuli (letters)?
0 - 180 degrees
What did Cooper & Shepard (1973) find that participants do in the study when rotating stimuli?
Rotate the stimuli as little as possible
Study Notes
Mental Rotation
- Mental rotation is the ability to rotate mental representations of objects in three-dimensional space.
Shepard and Metzler (1971) Experiment
- Participants had to decide whether pairs of objects were the same or different.
- On average, 5% of responses were incorrect.
- The overall mean reaction time for the 'different' pairs was 2.29 seconds.
- Figure 2B depicts a reflection rotation.
- Figure 2A depicts a rotation in the picture plane.
- The experiment used simple, geometric shapes (e.g., cubes, cylinders) as stimuli.
- Participants took approximately 1-2 seconds to mentally rotate objects in three-dimensional space.
- Before comparing the objects, participants had to mentally rotate them to the same orientation.
Mirror Images and Same Shape Images
- Mirror images are reversed versions of the original object.
- Same shape images are identical to the original object.
Cooper & Shepard (1973) Study
- The study found a linear relationship between the angle of rotation and reaction time.
- The time course of mental rotation is determined by the Euclidean distance in three-dimensional space.
- For familiar stimuli (letters), the study used rotation values ranging from 0° to 180°.
- Participants mentally rotated stimuli to a canonical orientation before making a response.
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