Prior research indicates that spatial skills, such as Mental Rotation Skills (MRS), are a strong predictor for mathematics achievement. Other studies have shown that MRS can be instilled through training and that they are a good predictor of another spatial skill: route learning and wayfinding skills. This paper explores these assumptions and reports an experiment with 43 undergraduate psycholo...

Spatial ability tests like mental rotation and paper-folding provide strong predictions of an individual’s achievement in science and engineering. What cognitive skills are involved in them? We use a computational model to analyze these tasks, asking how much information must be processed to perform them. The models demonstrate that in some cases stimuli can be vastly simplified, resulting in c...

Navigation through an environment is a fundamental human activity. Although group differences in navigational ability are documented (e.g., gender), little is known about traits that predict these abilities. Apart from a well-established link between mental rotational abilities and navigational learning abilities, recent studies point to an influence of trait anxiety on the formation of interna...

Background: Thalassemia is the most common hereditary disease in Iran. Cardiac complications and cardiac symptom have been identified as the major problem, which has profound impact on the mental health of patients with thalassemia. One method of reducing this impact is an exercise plan. Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a designed Walking plan on the mental health and...

[Purpose] This study aimed to examine the effects of mental practice on the balance abilities of normal individuals. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty subjects were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group (n=15 each). Participants in both groups performed balance training in a seated position on a gym ball for 20 minutes per session, five sessions per week, for 4 weeks. Members of the...

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Mental rotation and number representation have both been studied widely, but although mental rotation has been linked to higher-level mathematical skills, to date it has not been shown whether mental rotation ability is linked to the most basic mental representation and processing of numbers. To investigate the possible connection between mental rotation abilities and numerical representation, ...

INTRODUCTION There have been various strategies employed to improve the ability of primary care physicians to identify and intervene in the mental health concerns of young children. In this study we assessed community physician needs and ability to identify mental health problems in children less than 6 years of age. METHODS Two surveys were conducted. The purpose of the surveys was to identi...

We review the literature on the relation between whole brain size and general mental ability (GMA) both within and between species. Among humans, in 28 samples using brain imaging techniques, the mean brain size/GMA correlation is 0.40 (N = 1,389; p < 10(-10)); in 59 samples using external head size measures it is 0.20 (N = 63,405; p < 10(-10)). In 6 samples using the method of correlated vecto...

Methods of Measuring Mental Ability The simplest method of assessing mental ability is, of course, to ask questions, award marks and to compare the marks gained by one person with the marks gained by others. Its simplicity, range of application and possible refinements are the chief assets of this method and its chief defect is that the marking, however conscientiously it is carried out, remain...