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Spatial Abilities for Architecture: Cross Sectional and Longitudinal Assessment With Novel and Existing Spatial
Michal Berkowitz1, Andri Gerber2, Christian M Thurn1
1Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Frontiers in Psychology
|February 19, 2021
Summary
Spatial abilities improve during architecture studies, with advanced students showing greater gains on domain-specific tasks. However, a persistent gender gap in spatial performance was observed among male and female students.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Architectural Education
Background:
- Spatial abilities are crucial for architectural design.
- Understanding individual differences and developmental trajectories in spatial skills is important for optimizing architectural education.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate individual differences in spatial abilities among architecture students at various educational levels.
- To examine the domain-specificity of spatial tests in relation to architectural training.
- To explore gender differences in spatial test performance and their evolution with academic progression.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional and longitudinal assessments of spatial abilities using domain-specific and standardized tests.
- Control for general reasoning ability in all analyses.
- Comparison of performance between beginner and master students, and across genders.
Main Results:
- Master students outperformed beginners on novel perspective-taking and object composition tests, and on visualization of cross-sections, but not mental rotations.
- Longitudinal data revealed significant improvements in spatial performance after the first bachelor year across multiple tests.
- Male students consistently outperformed female students across all educational levels and test types.
Conclusions:
- Spatial abilities demonstrably improve throughout architecture studies, with some evidence supporting the domain-specificity hypothesis.
- The observed gender gap in spatial performance, particularly among advanced students, warrants further investigation into architecture-specific spatial thinking and potential interventions.
