Abstract: In order to clarify the ability reflected in scores in a Mental Rotations Test (MRT), the performance in Shepard-Metzler tasks (S-M tasks) was compared between experts and novices. The analysis indicated that the variety of the strategy preference in S-M tasks was very similar to that observed in the MRT. It can be said that the differences in strategies of the MRT were evoked by individual differences in performing mental rotations. The speed of mental rotation is one of the factors which have an effect on the score in the MRT. The variety of strategies for novices may be evoked by the low speed of mental rotation and the difficulty in unifying strategies to mental rotation. It is summarized that the score in the MRT evaluates the performance in mental rotations.
Keywords: spatial ability, strategy preference, individual difference
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