On spatial visualization in college students

This study investigated two questions: (a) Do individuals with distinct career orientations have different spatial reasoning abilities? (B) Is there a sex difference in the spatial reasoning abilities of people with a similar career orientation? A spatial visualization test was administered to university students enrolled in four different types of mathematics courses: calculus (n=37), business statistics (n=72), remedial mathematics (n=58), and mathematics for elementary school teachers (n=56). The examination covered four forms of spatial visualization. Comparison of performance between groups and within groups (e.g., males in elementary education) scored higher than the expected sex on a majority of the variables. Sex differences were observed within each of the courses. On three of the four variables students in the calculus courses scored higher than students in the other courses.