On the relationship between solution strategies in two mental rotation tasks

Individual differences in solution strategies have frequently been reported for different measures of mental rotation (MR) ability. In the present study (N = 346 German students), we investigated the relationship between solution strategies on two tests commonly used to identify different patterns of strategies: the Mental Rotations Test (MRT; Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978; Peters, Laeng, Lathan, Jackson, Zaiouna, & Richardson, 1995) and the Cube Comparison Test (CCT; Amthauer, 1953; Amthauer, Brocke, Liepmann, & Beauducel, 2001). The results revealed high convergent validity of the solution strategy assignment. Individuals using analytic (holistic) strategies on the MRT tended to use analytic (holistic) strategies also on the CCT. More females than males were identified as users of analytic solution strategies on the MRT. In addition, males tended to generally show a faster performance than did females. Our findings suggest that solution strategies in MR generalize across different tasks and are not an artifact of a particular test.