PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Spatial skills may be improved through training, new review finds

2012-07-26
(Press-News.org) Spatial skills--those involved with reading maps and assembling furniture--can be improved if you work at it, that's according to a new look at the studies on this topic by researchers at Northwestern University and Temple.

The research published this month in Psychological Bulletin, the journal of the American Psychological Association, is the first comprehensive analysis of credible studies on such interventions.

Improving spatial skills is important because children who do well at spatial tasks such as putting together puzzles are likely to achieve highly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

David Uttal and fellow researchers at Northwestern University with Nora Newcombe, professor of psychology at Temple and principal investigator of the National Science Foundation's Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center, reviewed 217 research studies on educational interventions to improve spatial thinking.

"There are limitations involved with looking at individual studies one by one. What we found when we brought together this large body of literature on training effects and analyzed it was a very powerful message, said Newcombe. "People of all ages can improve at all types of spatial skills through training, period."

Although recent research confirms that spatial abilities uniquely predict STEM achievement, there has been some debate about whether spatial skills can be improved — and whether such improvement lasts or transfers to new tasks. The new meta-analysis answers all those questions in the affirmative.

The researchers found that spatial skills are indeed malleable and that spatial training transfers to other fields.

"Our findings have significant real world implications by showing that training can have an impact on a technological workforce. With the right training more high school students will be able to consider engineering and other scientific fields as a career option," said Newcombe.

One example of the type of training that can increase spatial abilities is having physics students use three-dimensional representations. Video game playing also increases spatial skills. "Perhaps the most important finding from this meta-analysis is that several different forms of training can be highly successful," the authors say.

"Our hope is that our findings on how to train spatial skills will ultimately lead to highly effective ways to improve STEM performance," said Uttal, the lead author on the study.

The study looked at gender and age differences in relation to spatial thinking and found that in males and females, adults and children, even a small amount of training can improve spatial reasoning and have long-lasting impact.

INFORMATION:

The research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation to the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center, housed at Temple.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Contaminant transport in the fungal pipeline

Contaminant transport in the fungal pipeline
2012-07-26
This press release is available in German. Leipzig. Fungi are found throughout the soil with giant braiding of fine threads. However, these networks have surprising functions. Only a few years ago researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) discovered that bacteria travel over the fungal threads through the labyrinth of soil pores, much the same as on a highway. Now, together with British colleagues from the University of Lancaster, the UFZ researchers have come upon another phenomenon. Accordingly, the fungal networks also transports contaminants ...

Miriam researchers urge physicians to ask younger men about erectile dysfunction symptoms

2012-07-26
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Although erectile dysfunction (ED) has been shown to be an early warning sign for heart disease, some physicians – and patients – still think of it as just as a natural part of "old age." But now an international team of researchers, led by physicians at The Miriam Hospital, say it's time to expand ED symptom screening to include younger and middle-aged men. In an article appearing in the July issue of the American Heart Journal, they encourage physicians to inquire about ED symptoms in men over the age of 30 who have cardiovascular risk factors, such ...

In muscular dystrophy, what matters to patients and doctors can differ

2012-07-26
Complex, multi-system diseases like myotonic dystrophy – the most common adult form of muscular dystrophy – require physicians and patients to identify which symptoms impact quality of life and, consequently, what treatments should take priority. However, a new study out this month in the journal Neurology reveals that there is often a disconnect between the two groups over which symptoms are more important, a phenomenon that not only impacts care but also the direction of research into new therapies. "In order to design better therapies we must first develop a clear ...

New gene therapy strategy boosts levels of deficient protein in Friedreich's ataxia

 New gene therapy strategy boosts levels of deficient protein in Friedreichs ataxia
2012-07-26
New Rochelle, NY, July 25, 2012—A novel approach to gene therapy that instructs a person's own cells to produce more of a natural disease-fighting protein could offer a solution to treating many genetic disorders. The method was used to achieve a 2- to 3-fold increase in production of a protein deficient in patients with Friedreich's ataxia, as described in an article published Instant Online in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com) The article is available free online at the Human Gene Therapy website (http://www.liebertpub.com/hum). The ...

ONR-funded research takes flight in Popular Science article

ONR-funded research takes flight in Popular Science article
2012-07-26
ARLINGTON, Va.—The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is looking at birds' perceptual and maneuvering abilities as inspiration for small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) autonomy, and Popular Science is featuring this effort in its August issue, posted online July 25. An ONR-funded, five-year Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program is examining the control and behavioral processes of birds and other small animals when flying at high speeds through complex environments, such as forests or urban settings. Researchers are trying to understand why birds make ...

Study links alcohol/energy drink mixes with casual, risky sex

Study links alcohol/energy drink mixes with casual, risky sex
2012-07-26
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A new study from the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) has found a link between the consumption of caffeinated energy drinks mixed with alcohol and casual -- often risky -- sex among college-age adults. According to the study's findings, college students who consumed alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmEDs) were more likely to report having a casual partner and/or being intoxicated during their most recent sexual encounter. The results seem to indicate that AmEDs may play a role in the "hook-up culture" that exists on ...

Mind vs. body? Dualist beliefs linked with less concern for healthy behaviors

2012-07-26
Many people, whether they know it or not, are philosophical dualists. That is, they believe that the brain and the mind are two separate entities. Despite the fact dualist beliefs are found in virtually all human cultures, surprisingly little is known about the impact of these beliefs on how we think and behave in everyday life. But a new research article forthcoming in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that espousing a dualist philosophy can have important real-life consequences. Across five related studies, researchers ...

Public strongly supports programs helping farmers adapt to climate change

2012-07-26
EAST LANSING, Mich. — A survey conducted by Michigan State University reveals strong public support for government programs to assist farmers to adapt to climate change. According to NASA research, global temperatures have been rising for decades, and it's affecting all aspects of agriculture. Regardless of what those surveyed believe causes climate change, more than 65 percent of them support government assistance for farmers, said Scott Loveridge, MSU professor of agricultural, food and resource economics. This year has been a particularly harsh example. This summer's ...

NASA and university researchers find a clue to how life turned left

2012-07-26
GREENBELT, Md. -- Researchers analyzing meteorite fragments that fell on a frozen lake in Canada have developed an explanation for the origin of life's handedness – why living things only use molecules with specific orientations. The work also gave the strongest evidence to date that liquid water inside an asteroid leads to a strong preference of left-handed over right-handed forms of some common protein amino acids in meteorites. The result makes the search for extraterrestrial life more challenging. "Our analysis of the amino acids in meteorite fragments from Tagish ...

Women with diabetes more likely to experience sexual dissatisfaction

2012-07-26
Women with diabetes are just as likely to be interested in, and engage in, sexual activity as non-diabetic women, but they are much more likely to report low overall sexual satisfaction, according to a UCSF study. The researchers also found that diabetic women receiving insulin treatment were at higher risk for the specific complications of lubrication and orgasm. "Diabetes is a recognized risk factor for erectile dysfunction in men, but there have been almost no data to indicate whether it also affects sexual function in women," said senior author Alison J. Huang, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Researchers find possible cause for increasing polarization

From soft to solid: How a coral stiffens its skeleton on demand

New software tool MARTi fast-tracks identification and response to microbial threats

Rare brain cell may hold the key to preventing schizophrenia symptoms

A new tool to find hidden ‘zombie cells’

New Cleveland Clinic research finds up to 5% of Americans carry genetic mutations associated with cancer risk

Once tadpoles lose lungs, they never get them back

Small group of users drive invasive species awareness on social media

One bad safety review can tank an Airbnb booking — Even among thousands of positive ones, new study finds

Text-based system speeds up hospital discharges to long-term care

California schools are losing tree canopy

How people learn computer programming

Exploring a mechanism of psychedelics

Scientists can now explore mechanisms behind attachment issues

Researchers watched students’ brains as they learned to program

An AI-powered lifestyle intervention vs human coaching in the diabetes prevention program

AI-powered diabetes prevention program shows similar benefits to those led by people

New study may transform diagnosis of Britain’s number one cancer

Stillbirths in the United States

How animals get their spots, and why they are beautifully imperfect

Stillbirths in the U.S. higher than previously reported, often occur with no clinical risk factors

Durability of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines against JN.1 subvariants

Online unsupervised Tai Chi intervention for knee pain and function in people with knee osteoarthritis

A nose for microbes: how hunger tunes the brain

TRF1 protein loss reduces body fat and improves metabolic health in mice without shortening telomeres

JMIR Medical Education invites submissions on bias, diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence in medical education

SwRI receives $9.9 million contract to assess reliability of F-16 landing gear components

Computer scientists build AI tool to spot risky and unenforceable contract terms

Self-affirmations can boost well-being, study finds

New certification helps clinicians advance digital cardiac care

[Press-News.org] Spatial skills may be improved through training, new review finds