Sex differences in spatial object-location memory in a virtual grocery store.
The grocery shopping Virtual Reality Spatial Object-Location Test (VRSOLT) was developed to examine sex differences in spatial object-location memory in a 3D virtual environment that simulates the real world. Forty college students (20 males, 20 females) were tested on the VRSOLT as well as mental rotation and 2D object-location memory tasks. Both convergent and divergent validity was demonstrated. Males showed an advantage on mental rotation, and results of the VRSOLT grocery store test replicated the female object-location advantage seen in 2D tests. A strategy of systematically navigating the environment may aid female encoding for object location.
Spiers
Mary V
MV
Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. spiersm@drexel.edu
Sakamoto
Maiko
M
Elliott
Richard J
RJ
Baumann
Steve
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D012016:Reference Values; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013028:Space Perception; D013037:Spatial Behavior; D014584:User-Computer Interface