A Cross-cultural Comparison of The Apparel Spatial Visualization Test and Paper Folding Test

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of culture and training on performance of spatial tasks by administering the Paper Folding Test and Apparel Spatial Visualization Test to students from two cultures at the beginning and end of semester classes in apparel design, analyzing the correlation between the two tests, and collecting information on strategies used by students to select answers to test items on the Apparel Spatial Visualization Test. Participants consisted of 133 university students in Korea and the United States. Five U.S. and five Korean students participated in the retrospective interviews. In a pre-test/post-test comparison group design, participants completed the Paper Folding Test and Apparel Spatial Visualization Test at the beginning and end of semester classes in flat pattern, tailoring, and beginning construction. The Paper Folding Test and Apparel Spatial Visualization Test were significantly correlated indicating that the Apparel Spatial Visualization Test measures approximately the same spatial ability as the Paper Folding Test - spatial visualization - but specific to the intended domain. T-tests revealed Korean, compared to U.S., students had higher pre-test scores on the Paper Folding Test but not on the Apparel Spatial Visualization Test. A paired t-test showed that, overall, students improved significantly on both the Paper Folding Test and Apparel Spatial Visualization Test as a result of training received in their classes; improvement scores of Korean and U.S. students were not significantly different. Retrospective interviews uncovered seven strategies used by both U.S. and Korean students to solve problems on the Apparel Spatial Visualization Test: stimulus analysis, extraction of landmarks, matching, elimination, checking, relying on expectations based on prior knowledge, and guessing.

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