1 Degree of Rotation: Can Affect Reaction Time but Not Gender The College of Staten Island of the City University of New York Degree of Rotation: Can Affect Reaction Time but Not Gender 2 Did you ever wonder whether or not men perform better than women doing different tasks? One example where this is evident is in a mental rotations test. It has been established that there is a distinct difference between men and women’s performances on the mental rotations test. Researchers have found that men score significantly higher than women. A mental rotation test displays models of objects that have been rotated differently in order to see if they are the same or different. The goal of the test is to be able to imagine what a stimulus will look like when it is rotated. In the previous study researcher Master’s (1998) investigated mental rotation and how it reflects on gender differences. Participants were given a pencil and paper test that was timed. There were two levels: level 1- short timed, and level 2 - unlimited time. They were shown a model of objects and were asked to indicate which two of these are the same object but rotated in a different view. Master’s found that for level 1 (short timed) men scored higher than women. She also found that for level 2 women performed worse even with unlimited time. Another study researcher’s Kimura and Hampson (1994) investigated mental rotation on hormone levels and how it influences performance between genders. There were thre ...
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