Developmental and differential aspects of mental rotation in early adolescence

A chronometric mental rotation paradigm was applied to examine manipulation of visual imagery in early adolescence in relation to age, sex, mental rotation ability (measured psychometrically), and socioeconomic background. Fifth- and seventh-grade boys and girls from middle and lower socioeconomic backgrounds viewed tachistiscopically letters of the alphabet presented at 0 degrees, 60 degrees, 120 degrees, and 180 degrees of rotation and were asked to judge whether the letter was forward or backward. In one condition, children were given no information about the test letter, and in the other, advance visual information about its identity and orientation was provided. With age, children became more skillful at rotating and were more likely to show evidence of using the advance information as a visual image. There were no sex differences. Socioeconomic differences were more pronounced in the fifth than the seventh grade. Children showing high mental rotation ability were more likely than low-ability children to show evidence of rotating visual stimuli on the chronometric measure. The findings are discussed in terms of adolescent cognitive development.