The Mental Rotation Ability of Expert Basketball Players: Identifying On-Court Plays. 2021

Matthias Weigelt, and Daniel Memmert
University of Paderborn.

Purpose: The purpose was (1) to test a new version of a mental rotation task (MRT), which assesses mental rotation abilities of men and women for sport-specific items, and (2) to investigate potential differences in MRT performance, which are based on athletic expertise. Methods: Eighty-eight basketball experts (42 females) and 123 novices (64 females) were tested with a paper-and-pencil version of the "Mental Rotation Task-Basketball (MRT-BB)", which is similar to the original MRT. Instead of three-dimensional cubes, six different basketball plays were used as stimuli. The criterion stimulus of the 24 items was always displayed in an upright orientation (basket on top), located on the left side of the sheet. In addition, two "correct" alternatives (one stimulus rotated by 90° to the left or right and one by 180°) and two "incorrect" alternatives (either rotated mirror-images of the criterion stimulus or rotated images of a different play) were displayed in different positions of the same row. The task was to identify the "correct" alternatives. Results: Results demonstrated (a) an effect of sex, with more items solved for male participants as compared to female participants, and (b) an effect of expertise, with better performance of expert players than of novices. Conclusions: Male and female basketball experts show better mental rotation skills for sport-specific stimulus material. The MRT-BB extends standard tests of mental rotation to sport-specific stimulus material and can be used to test the sport-specific mental rotation skills of basketball players.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000072458 Orientation, Spatial Change in position or alignment in response to an external stimulus. Orientations, Spatial,Spatial Orientation,Spatial Orientations
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D001076 Aptitude The ability to acquire general or special types of knowledge or skill. Ability,Talent,Abilities,Aptitudes,Talents
D001490 Basketball A competitive team sport played on a rectangular court having a raised basket at each end. Netball,Netballs,Basketballs
D012737 Sex Factors Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances. Factor, Sex,Factors, Sex,Sex Factor
D013647 Task Performance and Analysis The detailed examination of observable activity or behavior associated with the execution or completion of a required function or unit of work. Critical Incident Technique,Critical Incident Technic,Task Performance,Task Performance, Analysis,Critical Incident Technics,Critical Incident Techniques,Incident Technic, Critical,Incident Technics, Critical,Incident Technique, Critical,Incident Techniques, Critical,Performance, Analysis Task,Performance, Task,Performances, Analysis Task,Performances, Task,Task Performances,Task Performances, Analysis,Technic, Critical Incident,Technics, Critical Incident,Technique, Critical Incident,Techniques, Critical Incident
D014796 Visual Perception The selecting and organizing of visual stimuli based on the individual's past experience. Visual Processing,Perception, Visual,Processing, Visual

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