Reasoning1–3 minBurden: LowEMA: High

Mental Rotation

A visuospatial task in which participants judge whether two rotated shapes are the same or mirror-image different.

Visuospatial processingMental imagerySpatial ability
Category
Reasoning
Typical duration
1–3 min
Participant burden
Low
EMA suitability
High

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Configure parameters and run an interactive preview exactly as participants will experience it. No data is recorded.

Configure preview

Adjust parameters below, then start the preview on the right.

Include practice trials

Shown with feedback before the main task

Task parameters

6 base shapes rendered on a 4×4 grid with random rotations. Half same, half different per sequence.

1–3 minBurden: LowEMA: High

This is a researcher preview. No participant data is recorded.

Simulated participant view

9:41

Mental Rotation

A visuospatial task in which participants judge whether two rotated shapes are the same or mirror-image different.

No data is recorded

Participant experience on smartphone

Two shapes rendered on 4×4 grids are shown side by side. The participant taps Same or Different as quickly as possible.

When to use

Useful in studies targeting visuospatial ability, sex differences in cognition, athletic performance, or engineering aptitude where spatial processing is relevant.

When not to use

Not well-suited to populations with strong visual field impairments or when study design requires classical Shepard-Metzler 3-D stimuli.

How to use in a study

Enable practice with feedback to ensure participants understand that same-shape pairs may look different because they are rotated, not mirrored. Keep sessions to 20 trials or fewer for EMA use.

Researcher-configurable parameters

  • Number of practice trials
  • Number of live trials
  • Practice enabled / disabled

Outputs collected

  • Accuracy
  • Median reaction time
  • Same vs different accuracy

Interpretation notes

Mental rotation performance is stable across brief administrations. Both accuracy and reaction time are informative — fast but inaccurate responses suggest impulsive guessing.

Scientific evidence

  • 2-D shape rotation tasks are reliable on smartphones and capture individual differences consistent with laboratory versions.

Read more

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