Importance of assessing spatial ability in intellectually talented young adolescents: A 20-year longitudinal study.

Abstract

At age 13, 393 boys and 170 girls scoring at the top 0.5% in general intelligence completed the Scholastic Assessment Test Mathematics (SAT-M) and Verbal (SAT-V) subtests and the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) Space Relations (SR) and Mechanical Reasoning (MR) subtests. Longitudinal data were collected through follow-up questionnaires completed at ages 18, 23, and 33. Multivariate statistical methods were employed using the SAT-M, SAT-V, and a DAT (SR + MR) composite to predict a series of developmentally sequenced educational-vocational outcomes: (a) favorite and least favorite high school class, (b) undergraduate degree field, (c) graduate degree field, and (d) occupation at age 33. Spatial ability added incremental validity to SAT-M and SAT-V assessments in predicting educationalvocational outcomes over these successive time frames. It appears that spatial ability assessments can complement contemporary talent search procedures. The amount of lost potential for artistic, scientific, and technical disciplines that results from neglecting this critical dimension of nonverbal ideation is discussed.Theory and practice in gifted education have shifted from an emphasis primarily on general cognitive ability (general intelligence or "g") to an appreciation of the unique information afforded by verbal and quantitative abilities (

Using a touch screen paradigm to assess the development of mental rotation between 3½ and 5½ years of age

“…Future research should aim to find out more about the development of this spatial ability and the ontogenesis of individual differences. Recent research has shown that individual differences in spatial skills are predictive of later careers in STEM disciplines (Shea et al 2001;Wai et al 2009). Therefore, it is of important practical relevance to learn more about individual differences in mental rotation abilities, their origins, and means to foster this spatial skill at a young age.…”

The Challenge and Promise of Cognitive Career Assessment

“…This is especially clear in groups of highly gifted students who possess all three key Stratum II abilities-verbal, mathematical, and spatial-in sufficient measure to qualify for any job requiring them. For instance, a study of extraordinarily gifted youngsters (all were above IQ 160) classified them according to whether their SAT scores in math and verbal at age 13 were about the same, tilted clearly toward math, or tilted toward verbal (Lubinski et al, 2001). About three-quarters of those with a math tilt later majored in math, medicine, or inorganic/organic science.…”

Performance on tasks of visuospatial memory and ability: A cross-sectional study in 330 adolescents aged 11 to 20

“…Many different tasks aim to measure visuospatial abilities, and performance on these tasks is often considered an important predictor of general intellectual abilities (Shea, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2001). "Visuospatial abilities" is a grouping of several different types of abilities.…”