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Implications and Methodological Issues for the Study of Individual Differences in Usability and User Experience
Published in Marcelo M. Soares, Francisco Rebelo, Tareq Z. Ahram, Handbook of Usability and User Experience, 2022
E. Brunsen, W. B. Hicks, A. C. McLaughlin
If a designer believes spatial ability will be important for the task the user wants to accomplish (for example, a map or traffic application), the choice of measure should be based on a task analysis. In the task analysis, consider what kind of spatial ability is most needed for the task. The most common measure of spatial ability is the measurement of the ability to rotate objects mentally. The most common test used is the updated Mental Rotation Test (Peters et al., 1995; based on the original test by Shepard and Metzler, 1971), which presents shapes that the participant must assess for similarity to other rotated versions of the shape (Figure 2.1). This measures the ability to mentally rotate, but not other spatial abilities, such as the ability to navigate. Navigation ability is typically measured using virtual environments. For example, a virtual world called Virtual Silcton has participants navigate a campus or city, with performance scores indicating their navigational ability (Blacker, Weisberg, Newcombe, & Courtney, 2017; Galati, Weisberg, Newcombe, & Avraamides, 2017; Nazareth, Weisberg, Margulis & Newcombe, 2018; Weisberg & Newcombe, 2016; Weisberg, Schinazi, Newcombe, Shipley, & Epstein, 2014).
Cognition
Published in Anne McLaughlin, Richard Pak, Designing Displays for Older Adults, 2020
Spatial ability helps a person mentally manipulate location-based representations of the world. This ability is important for reading a map of an unfamiliar city or trying to orient oneself by using the navigation system in a vehicle. In these tasks, users transform, rotate, and manipulate the physical environment in their head. People also need spatial ability when they create or manipulate mental models. A mental model is a representation of a physical system – a map of sorts. For example, some people have mental maps of the layout of their childhood home or neighborhood. The mental map allows them to navigate the area quickly and may even facilitate the discovery and usage of “shortcuts” that speed navigation. In one test for spatial ability, the cube comparison test, the respondent has to decide whether the two cubes shown represent the same cube, but sitting on another face, or a completely different cube. Arriving at an answer quickly depends on the respondent’s spatial abilities.
Assessing Cognitive Aging in Piloting
Published in Pamela S. Tsang, Michael A. Vidulich, Principles and Practice of Aviation Psychology, 2002
Variability in Individual Differences. Rabbitt (1993c) states that “cognitive gerontology is not the study of decline in performance with age, but rather of the enormously increased variance, both between and within individuals, in older populations” (p. 201; see also Birren & Schroots, 1996; Czaja, 1990; Schaie, 1990). Many factors have been proposed to account for the increased variability. Different physiological, sensory, and cognitive systems change at different rates. Verbal ability and crystallized intelligence tend to increase with age and then were maintained into old age. Spatial ability, fluid intelligence, and response speediness tend to show decline with increased age (e.g., Horn & Masunaga, 2000; Rabbitt, 1993b). Life experiences also become increasingly divergent with increased age. Some skills are maintained by practice, whereas others are lost through disuse.
Fewer Steps the Better? Instructing Older Adults’ Learning and Searching in Smartphone Apps
Published in International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 2022
Ziyao Zhou, Jia Zhou, Fengli Liu
The simplicity of using a smartphone app lies in ease of use and navigation, which was perceived the most valuable characteristic of users’ favorite apps and even nearly twice as important as anything else (GOOGLE, 2016). Complex information structure is another key factor that makes it difficult for the older adults to learn and use smartphone apps (Kim et al., 2011). Older adults’ working memory and spatial ability decline with age (Arning & Ziefle, 2009; Horn & Cattell, 1967; Ziefle & Bay, 2004). This makes it impossible for the older adults to clearly remember its contents and have a good perception of its spatial structure in the process of learning smartphone apps like the young (Pak & Price, 2008; Ziefle & Bay, 2004). Therefore, it is very important and necessary to design an information structure matching the mental model of the older adults, and giving them a better sense of control on navigation in order to reduce their loss when learning smartphone apps.
Individual characteristics and geospatial reasoning ability: a multigroup analysis of age, culture, and gender
Published in Journal of Decision Systems, 2020
Michael A. Erskine, Dawn G. Gregg, Jahangir Karimi
It is suggested that geospatial reasoning is a learned characteristic, indicating this ability can change relatively quickly (Borgman et al., 2005). For instance, introductory geography courses devote substantial amounts of time towards teaching geospatial reasoning to ensure student success (Borgman et al., 2005). Research has also found that spatial ability may even be improved through aerobic exercise programmes (Stroth et al., 2009) or non-endurance training (Hötting et al., 2012). Furthermore, Rafi et al. (2005) suggested that students who participated in virtual environments have improved spatial abilities, which could help overcome the difficulty in courses that require spatial skills, such as engineering graphics or cartography. We suggest that the GRA scale can help training developers evaluate the efficacy of their training programmes by measuring improvements in geospatial reasoning.
Procedural and relational understanding of pre-service mathematics teachers regarding spatial perception of angles in pyramids
Published in International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 2019
In recent decades, researchers have stipulated that the terminology regarding spatial perception is mixed-up and inconsistent [3–8]. They use various names for indicating the same thing or alternately interpret a term in different manners. Cohen [3, p.17] presents definitions and examples of different terms such as spatial ability or mental image which refer to the same concept:Spatial ability (Wertheim, 1998) is defined as individuals’ ability to absorb, interpret, process and implement information related to solids and relations in space. According to Lean and Clements (1981) spatial ability is the ability to develop mental pictures and act on them in one’s thought.