title: A Quick Assessment of Visuospatial Abilities in Adolescents Using the Design Organization Test (DOT).
abstract: Tests measuring visuospatial abilities have shown that these abilities increase during adolescence. Unfortunately, the Block Design test and other such tests are complicated and time-consuming to administer, making them unsuitable for use with large groups of restless adolescents. The results of the Design Organization Test (DOT), a quick pen-and-paper test, have been shown to correlate with those of the Block Design test. A group of 198 healthy adolescents (110 male and 88 female) aged 12 to 19 years old participated in this study. A slightly modified version of the DOT has been used in which we shortened the administration time to avoid a ceiling effect in the score. Scores show a linear increase with age (on average 2.0 points per year, r = .61) independent of sex. Scores did not differ between individual setting and group setting. Thus, the DOT is a simple and effective way to assess visuospatial ability in large groups, such as in schools, and it can be easily administered year after year to follow the development of students.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neuroscience , Erasmus MC , Rotterdam , The Netherlands.|b Helmholtz Institute and Department of Experimental Psychology, Neuroscience & Cognition Utrecht , Utrecht University , Utrecht , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burggraaf
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neuroscience , Erasmus MC , Rotterdam , The Netherlands.|c Erasmus University College , Rotterdam , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maarten A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Frens
authors.affiliation: b Helmholtz Institute and Department of Experimental Psychology, Neuroscience & Cognition Utrecht , Utrecht University , Utrecht , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ignace T C
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Hooge
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neuroscience , Erasmus MC , Rotterdam , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jos N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: van der Geest
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D001076:Aptitude / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Block Design test; Design Organization Test (DOT); adolescence; age; visuospatial ability