Cognitive process modeling of spatial ability: a construct validity study of an assembling object task

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive processes involved in completing a spatial task in which a participant must mentally assemble a two-dimensional objects. These tasks are used to measure spatial ability on tests such as the Revised Minnesota Paper Form Board Test. Two studies were completed to support a cognitive processing model, previously proposed by Embretson and Gorin (2001), for stages a participant must go through to solve this problem type. In the first study, data from a large group of students from the University of Kansas was used to discover what variables could be manipulated within each item to effect item difficulty and mean response time. Multiple regression models and linear logistic latent trait models were used to measure the impact of each variable on its respective cognitive processing stage. Finally, an eye tracker study was done on ten students from the University of Kansas to further support the proposed cognitive processing model. A qualitative analysis of the data generally supported the proposed cognitive model, but also indicated necessary revisions.