The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the angles of mental rotation when attempting to spatially orientate and the resulting response times and levels of accuracy. By means of a computer program, participants were presented with 64 mental rotational trials. The mental rotational trials consisted of a triangle placed in the center of the screen with a standard stick symbol of an aircraft appearing at various headings and orientations around the triangle. The participants were required to imagine themselves inside the flight deck of the aircraft, and then respond as quickly and accurately as possible to where the triangle is in relation to their orientation. Analysis of the data indicated that as the amount of angular displacement increased from the straight ahead and directly behind positions, the response times and accuracy rates increased and decreased respectively. Additionally, responses for the cardinal orientations were faster than the non-cardinal orientations.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the angles of mental rotation when attempting to spatially orientate and the resulting response times and levels of accuracy. By means of a computer program, participants were presented with 64 mental rotational trials. The mental rotational trials consisted of a triangle placed in the center of the screen with a standard stick symbol of an aircraft appearing at various headings and orientations around the triangle. The participants were required to imagine themselves inside the flight deck of the aircraft, and then respond as quickly and accurately as possible to where the triangle is in relation to their orientation. Analysis of the data indicated that as the amount of angular displacement increased from the straight ahead and directly behind positions, the response times and accuracy rates increased and decreased respectively. Additionally, responses for the cardinal orientations were faster than the non-cardinal orientations.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Archer, Ronald D."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Aeronautical Science","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Aeronautical Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Gerald D. Gibb","John A. Wise","Richard S. Gibson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1996,"date_issued":"1996-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"1996-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:16Z","subjects":["mental rotation","spatial orientation","response times","accuracy","Aerospace Engineering","Aviation"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/6","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Gerald D. Gibb","John A. Wise","Richard S. Gibson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Archer, Ronald D."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Aeronautical Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Aeronautical Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["mental rotation","spatial orientation","response times","accuracy","Aerospace Engineering","Aviation"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/6"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the angles of mental rotation when attempting to spatially orientate and the resulting response times and levels of accuracy. By means of a computer program, participants were presented with 64 mental rotational trials. The mental rotational trials consisted of a triangle placed in the center of the screen with a standard stick symbol of an aircraft appearing at various headings and orientations around the triangle. The participants were required to imagine themselves inside the flight deck of the aircraft, and then respond as quickly and accurately as possible to where the triangle is in relation to their orientation. Analysis of the data indicated that as the amount of angular displacement increased from the straight ahead and directly behind positions, the response times and accuracy rates increased and decreased respectively. Additionally, responses for the cardinal orientations were faster than the non-cardinal orientations.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Investigation of the Relationships Between the Angle of Mental Rotation Required For Spatial Orientation, Response Times, and Accuracy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Gerald D. Gibb","John A. Wise","Richard S. Gibson"],"dc:creator":["Archer, Ronald D."],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the angles of mental rotation when attempting to spatially orientate and the resulting response times and levels of accuracy. By means of a computer program, participants were presented with 64 mental rotational trials. The mental rotational trials consisted of a triangle placed in the center of the screen with a standard stick symbol of an aircraft appearing at various headings and orientations around the triangle. The participants were required to imagine themselves inside the flight deck of the aircraft, and then respond as quickly and accurately as possible to where the triangle is in relation to their orientation. Analysis of the data indicated that as the amount of angular displacement increased from the straight ahead and directly behind positions, the response times and accuracy rates increased and decreased respectively. Additionally, responses for the cardinal orientations were faster than the non-cardinal orientations.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/6"],"dc:subject":["mental rotation","spatial orientation","response times","accuracy","Aerospace Engineering","Aviation"],"dc:title":["An Investigation of the Relationships Between the Angle of Mental Rotation Required For Spatial Orientation, Response Times, and Accuracy"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Aeronautical Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Aeronautical Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:16Z"}