Scott Johnson "Mental Rotation in Adults and Infants: A Sex Difference" (BEC)
Behaivor, Evolution and Culture
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Times;
panose-1:2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:536902279 -2147483648 8 0 511 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073741899 0 0 159 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Times;
panose-1:2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:536902279 -2147483648 8 0 511 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073741899 0 0 159 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:10.0pt;
margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
--&amp
27 April:
Scott Johnson UCLA Department of Psychology
Mental
Rotation in Adults and Infants: A Sex Difference
Mental
rotation (MR) is the process by which people imagine how an object would look
when rotated into a different orientation in space; it may be related to
performance on tasks like perspective-taking and navigation. Men typically
perform faster and more accurately than women on MR tasks. Known influences on
MR performance in adults are both biological (e.g., exposure to testosterone)
and experiential (e.g., practice at spatial tasks), raising vital questions
about the developmental origins of MR. Until recently, developmental studies
were limited to children 4 years and older. This talk will present evidence
that sex differences in MR performance are present far earlier, and can be
observed in preverbal infants. I will also discuss the influence of task
demands on MR in infants, and the possible biological and environmental
contributions to performance that may shed light on the intersection of
visual/motor skills and mental imagery of 3D objects early in life.
