Developing a novel measure of non-rigid, ductile spatial skill

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• STEM Education
• Spatial Reasoning

Background:

• Non-rigid spatial thinking, involving dynamic transformations of objects, is crucial for STEM but understudied.
• Existing spatial skill measures often focus on rigid transformations, neglecting ductile ones.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel measure of non-rigid, ductile spatial skill using knot reasoning.
• To investigate the relationship between this new measure, existing spatial skills, and gender.
• To explore the influence of gendered spatial activities on non-rigid spatial performance.

Main Methods:

• Developed and administered a 54-item knot reasoning measure to 279 US adults.
• Correlated knot reasoning performance with established spatial skills measures in 147 US adults.
• Utilized structural equation modeling to examine mediation effects of gender and spatial activities.

Main Results:

• The knot reasoning measure demonstrated good reliability (α = .88) and correlated positively with existing spatial skills.
• Mental rotation and paper folding predicted knot reasoning performance.
• Men outperformed women on knot reasoning and paper folding; activity engagement mediated these differences.
• No significant differences in spatial skills were found across STEM and non-STEM majors.

Conclusions:

• Introduced a reliable measure for non-rigid, ductile spatial transformations.
• Provided evidence for the influence of gender and gendered spatial activities on non-rigid spatial skills.
• Highlighted the importance of considering non-rigid spatial abilities in STEM education and research.