Representations
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| - | '''Mental rotation''' is the ability to [[rotate]] [[mental image|mental representations]] of [[dimension|two-dimensional]] and [[Three-dimensional space|three-dimensional]] objects. | ||
| - | ==Introduction== | + | '''''Representations''''' is an interdisciplinary journal in the [[humanities]] published quarterly by the [[University of California Press]]. The journal was established in 1983 and is the founding publication of the [[New Historicism]] movement of the 1980s. It covers topics including literary, historical, and cultural studies. The founding editorial board was chaired by [[Stephen Greenblatt]] and [[Svetlana Alpers]]. ''Representations'' frequently publishes thematic special issues, for example, the 2007 issue on the legacies of American [[Orientalism]], the 2006 issue on cross-cultural [[mimesis]], and the 2005 issue on political and intellectual redress. |
| - | Mental rotation is somewhat localized to the right [[cerebral hemisphere]]. It is thought to take place largely in the same areas as [[perception]]. It is associated with the [[rate]] of spatial processing and [[intelligence (trait)|intelligence]] (Johnson 1990, Jones 1982, Hertzog 1991). | + | |
| - | Mental rotation can be separated into the following [[cognition|cognitive]] stages (Johnson 1990): | + | == Topics covered == |
| - | # Create a mental image of an object | + | * The Body, Gender, and Sexuality |
| - | # Rotate the object mentally until a [[comparison]] can be made | + | * Culture and Law |
| - | # Make the comparison | + | * Empire, Imperialism, and The New World |
| - | # Decide if the objects are the same or not | + | * History and Memory |
| - | # Report the decision | + | * Music |
| - | + | * Narrative and Poetics | |
| - | ==How mental rotation ability is assessed== | + | * National Identities |
| - | In a mental rotation [[Psychological assessment|test]], the [[research subject|subject]] is asked to compare two [[Three-dimensional space|3D]] objects (or [[letter (alphabet)|letters]]) and state if they are the same [[image]] or if they are [[mirror image]]s ([[Chirality (mathematics)|enantiomorphs]]). Commonly, the test will have pairs of images each rotated a specific amount of [[degree (angle)|degrees]] (eg. 0°, 60°, 120° or 180°). Some pairs will be the same image rotated, and others will be mirrored. The subject will be shown a set number of the pairs. The subject will be judged on how [[accuracy|accurately]] and [[rate|rapidly]] they can distinguish between the mirrored and non-mirrored pairs. | + | * Philosophy and Religion |
| - | + | * Politics and Aesthetics | |
| - | ==Notable research== | + | * Race and Ethnicity |
| - | [[Roger Shepard]] and Jacqueline Metzler (1971) originally discovered this [[phenomenon]]. Their [[research]] showed that the [[reaction time]] for participants to decide if the pair of items matched or not was [[Linear#Linear_functions|linearly]] [[Proportionality (mathematics)|proportional]] to the [[angle]] of rotation from the original position. That is, the more an object has been rotated from the original, the longer it takes an individual to determine if the 2 images are of the same object or enantiomorphs (Sternberg 247). Shortly afterwards, Robert Sekuler and David Nash (1972) demonstrated that a pair of mental transformations, size scaling and rotation, could be carried out in parallel. | + | * Science Studies |
| - | + | * Society, Class, and Power | |
| - | In further research, Shepard and Cooper (1982) have proposed the [[concept]] of a "Mental Imagery" facility, which is responsible for the ability to mentally rotate [[visual]] forms. Additionally, it has been found it does not matter on which [[axis of rotation|axis]] an object is rotated, but rather the degree to which it is rotated that has the most significant effect on response time. So rotations within the depth [[plane (mathematics)|plane]] ([[i.e.]], [[Cartesian coordinate system#Cartesian coordinates in two dimensions|2D]] rotations) and rotations in depth (3D rotations) behave similarly. Thus, the matching requires more time as the amount of depth rotation increases, just as for within the depth plane. | + | * Visual Culture |
| - | + | ||
| - | In subsequent research, it has been found that response times increase for degraded [[stimulation|stimuli]] and can decrease when participants are allowed to [[Practice (learning method)|practice]] mentally rotating imagery (Sternberg 247). This research has been instrumental in showing how people use mental [[representations]] to [[navigate]] their environments. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Also, males tend to be slightly faster in mental rotation tasks than females. The ability to rotate mentally (measured in terms of decline in response time) peaks in young adult-hood, and declines thereafter. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Recent breakthroughs in [[nuclear magnetic resonance]] have allowed [[psychologists]] to discover what parts of the [[brain]] correspond to the use of this mental imagery function. Using [[Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging]], psychologists have shown that when participants are performing mental rotation tasks, there is activation in [[Brodmann's areas]] 7A and 7B, the middle frontal [[gyrus]], [[striate cortex|extra-striate cortex]], the hand somastosensory [[cerebral cortex|cortex]], and [[frontal cortex]] (Cohen et al.). | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Other recent research has centered on whether there might be multiple neural systems for the rotation of mental imagery. Parsons (1987) found that when participants were presented with line drawings of hands rather than Shepard and Metzler-like 3D blocks showed [[embodiment]] effects in which participants were slower to rotate hand stimuli in directions that were incompatible with the way human wrist and arm joints move. This finding suggested that the rotation of mental imagery was underlain by multiple neural systems: that is, (at least) a motoric/tactile one as well as a visual one. In a similar vein Amorim, Isableu and Jarraya (2006) have found that adding a cylindric "head" to Shepard and Metzler line drawings of 3D objects can create facilitation and inhibition effects as compared to standard Metzler-like stimuli, further suggesting that these neural systems rely on embodied cognition. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Studies of the development of mental rotation have revealed the emergence of this ability in male infants by 5 months of age (Moore & Johnson, 2008). | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | * [[Mental event]] | + | |
| - | * [[Mental image]] | + | |
| + | == Anthologies == | ||
| + | The UC Press ''Representations'' books series has collected and reprinted many essays originally published in the journal, including: | ||
| + | * ''The Making of the Modern Body: Sexuality and Society in the Nineteenth Century'', edited by Catherine Gallagher and Thomas Laqueur | ||
| + | * ''Representing the English Renaissance'', edited by Stephen Greenblatt | ||
| + | * ''Misogyny, Misandry, Misanthropy'', edited by R. Howard Bloch and Frances Ferguson | ||
| + | * ''Law and the Order of Culture'', edited by Robert Post | ||
| + | * ''The New American Studies: Essays from Representations'', edited by Philip Fisher | ||
| + | * ''New World Encounters'', edited by Stephen Greenblatt | ||
| + | * ''Future Libraries'', edited by R. Howard Bloch and Carla Hesse | ||
| + | * ''The Fate of "Culture": Geertz and Beyond'', edited by Sherry B. Ortner | ||
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Representations is an interdisciplinary journal in the humanities published quarterly by the University of California Press. The journal was established in 1983 and is the founding publication of the New Historicism movement of the 1980s. It covers topics including literary, historical, and cultural studies. The founding editorial board was chaired by Stephen Greenblatt and Svetlana Alpers. Representations frequently publishes thematic special issues, for example, the 2007 issue on the legacies of American Orientalism, the 2006 issue on cross-cultural mimesis, and the 2005 issue on political and intellectual redress.
[edit]
Topics covered
- The Body, Gender, and Sexuality
- Culture and Law
- Empire, Imperialism, and The New World
- History and Memory
- Music
- Narrative and Poetics
- National Identities
- Philosophy and Religion
- Politics and Aesthetics
- Race and Ethnicity
- Science Studies
- Society, Class, and Power
- Visual Culture
[edit]
Anthologies
The UC Press Representations books series has collected and reprinted many essays originally published in the journal, including:
- The Making of the Modern Body: Sexuality and Society in the Nineteenth Century, edited by Catherine Gallagher and Thomas Laqueur
- Representing the English Renaissance, edited by Stephen Greenblatt
- Misogyny, Misandry, Misanthropy, edited by R. Howard Bloch and Frances Ferguson
- Law and the Order of Culture, edited by Robert Post
- The New American Studies: Essays from Representations, edited by Philip Fisher
- New World Encounters, edited by Stephen Greenblatt
- Future Libraries, edited by R. Howard Bloch and Carla Hesse
- The Fate of "Culture": Geertz and Beyond, edited by Sherry B. Ortner
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