Running head: MENTAL ROTATION 1
Mental Rotation by a College Student: I Get Around
Barely Mental
Missouri State University

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Abstract
The Abstract is a 1-paragraph summary of the report. It is in block style; that means the first line is not indented.

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Mental Rotation by a College Student: I Get Around
This study measured thinking. It measured the length of time it took a person to decide whether two pictures of three-dimensional block-like objects were the same or mirror images. It also measured the extra time it took for the person to make the decision when one of the two objects was rotated in space.
The hypothesis was the more an object had been rotated in space, the longer it would take for a person to determine that it was the same as a comparison object.
The prediction was, when the participant was asked to determine whether the pictures of two identical block-like objects were the same, there would be a positive linear relationship between the degrees of rotation in space, from 0 to 180, and the latency to respond in seconds.
(Place the operational definitions in the Method section.)
One independent was whether the pictures were the same or different
(the mirror image). This independent variable was not analyzed statistically.
The other independent variable was the amount of rotation, 0°, 60°, 120°,
180°. (° is Alt + 0176)
The dependent variable was the latency to respond correctly in seconds
(measured to hundredths) for the pictures of the objects that were the same.
This study used a single-factor, four-level, parametric, linear regression analysis. This is a test to find if there is a linear (straight-line) relationship between the two variables, rotation and latency.
A linear regression line is the

MENTAL ROTATION 4 mathematical equation that best describes the linear relationship between variables or that best fits the data plotted on a scatter plot.
Method
Participant
The number of participants should be given in this subsection. The methods used to get the sample of participants may be described in this subsection or the procedure subsection.
Apparatus
The apparatus included a stopwatch, six pairs of practice pictures, and
64 pairs of pictures on 3 x 5 inch (77 x 127 mm) cards.
(Include Figure 1 and Figure 2 and the operational definitions of all variables in the Method section.)
One independent was whether the pictures were the same or different
(the mirror image). This independent variable was not analyzed statistically.
180°.
The other independent variable was the amount of rotation, 0°, 60°, 120°,
Procedure
The . . .
The dependent variable was the latency to respond correctly in seconds
(measured to hundredths) for the pictures of the objects that were the same.
Results
The data analysis was performed only on the pictures that were the same, and the latencies from incorrect answers were excluded. The equation of the

MENTAL ROTATION 5 linear regression line is Y = 1.80 + 0.02
X . The t test for independent samples, with an alpha cutoff level of .05, showed the Y-intercept ( 1.80
) is significantly different from zero, t( 30 ) = 3.46
, p = .
02 , two-tailed. The t test for independent samples, with an alpha cutoff level of .05, showed the slope of the regression line ( 0.02
) is significantly different from zero, t( 30 ) = 4.13
, p < .001
, two-tailed.
The magnitude of the treatment effect (R²) is .
34 , which means 34 % of the variation of the latencies can be explained by the regression line. Give the means and standard deviations of the latency scores at each of the four values of degrees of rotation.
Figure 3 shows the latencies, mean latencies, and regression line.
Discussion
Make conclusions about the length of time it takes the participant to think, the prediction, and the hypothesis.
Discuss how this relates to the research you cited in your Introduction.

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References
Shepard, R. N., & Metzler, J. (1971, February 19). Mental rotation of threedimensional objects. Science, 171, 701-703. Retrieved from http://www.cs.duke.edu/researchers/artificial_intelligence/temp/Shepar d%20Rotate.pdf

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Figure 1. This is a sample of a pair of objects that are the same.

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Figure 2. This is a sample of a pair of objects that are different (are mirror images).

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Figure 3. The latency scores in seconds at 0, 60, 120, and 180 degrees of rotation, the mean latency scores, and the linear regression line that best fits the scores.