Spatial Visualization Measurement: A Modification of the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test — Visualization of Rotations

Abstract

During the 1999 Fall semester at North Carolina State University, a study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of using trimetric pictorials instead of isometric pictorials on the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test — Visualization of Rotations (Guay, 1977).  Undergraduate students enrolled in Graphic Communications courses completed computer versions of the PSVT and the Mental Rotations Test (Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978) during the first six weeks of classes.  The instruments were used to record student responses and response times as well as information on gender, current major, and number of previous graphics courses completed.  The control group completed the original version of the PSVT (isometric pictorials) and the MRT.  The experimental group completed a revised version of the PSVT (trimetric pictorials) and the MRT.  The researcher hypothesized that trimetric pictorials would be a more sensitive predictor of spatial visualization ability.