[MUD-Dev] The use of virtual reality in the assessment of spatial skills

[J C Lawrence]

http://www.uninet.edu/union99/congress/confs/val/01Galen.html

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Abstract

The assessment of visuospatial ability has received increasing
attention.  The impetus for this is two-fold: 1) aspects of
visuospatial ability show robust gender differences; and 2) spatial
performance may provide crucial information in the diagnosis of
specific pathological conditions common in aging.  The area of
visuospatial performance that shows the most consistent and sizable
gender difference is mental rotation (MR), or the ability to turn
something over in one?s mind.  Traditional measures used for the
assessment of this spatial ability leave uncertainty as to the exact
cognitive processes that underlie this ability, germane to both the
study of gender differences and the neuropathology of aging.  The
most common test uses two-dimensional stimuli that portray
three-dimensional objects and requires complete mental processing of
the stimuli without any motoric involvement.  We propose that tests
of spatial rotation ability that are administered in a virtual
reality (VR) environment may prove to be a superior method of
assessing spatial cognition.  The use of VR in the assessment of
cognitive abilities allows for better standardization of stimulus
presentation as well as quantification of multiple characteristics
of the stimuli.  Further, responses of the subjects can be
quantified on a range of characteristics that cannot be evaluated
using traditional psychometric instruments.  The combination of
greater control and description of the stimuli along with more
precise measurement of responses will allow for characterization of
the cognitive processes involved in spatial skills in a more
discrete fashion than is possible with standard measures.
Comparison of performance in VR with performance on standard
measures offers the potential to better understand this crucial
cognitive ability.
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J C Lawrence                
---------(*)                Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas. 
claw at kanga.nu               He lived as a devil, eh?		  
http://www.kanga.nu/~claw/  Evil is a name of a foeman, as I live.
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