Day 11 of 150 Spatial Difficulty 5/10
Mental rotation time scales linearly with the angle
Quick answer
Mental rotation time scales linearly with the angle. Today's question (Mental rotation) asks about a finding from Shepard, R. N., & Metzler, J. in 1971. The correct option is Linearly with the angle — full explanation, primary source, and glossary cross-links below.
Today's question
In Shepard & Metzler's mental-rotation experiments, response time scales how with the angle of rotation between two 3D shapes?
Reveal the answer and explanation
Correct: B — Linearly with the angle
Shepard & Metzler (1971) presented pairs of perspective drawings of 3D block figures and asked whether the two could be rotated to match. Response time grew linearly with the angular difference — about 60° per second of mental rotation. The linear scaling is strong evidence that mental imagery uses analog spatial transformations, not symbolic recoding. Mental rotation is now a standard instrument for measuring spatial ability.
About the source
Shepard, R. N., & Metzler, J. (1971). Mental rotation of three-dimensional objects. Science, 171(3972), 701–703.
Every Cognition Bible question cites a primary source — a paper, book chapter, or monograph that exists, that we can point to on Google Scholar, and whose finding the question accurately summarizes. No fabricated authority strings, no name-drops without paper-level grounding.
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