This entry discusses how one particular spatial skill, mental rotation, develops. Mental rotation is the ability to rotate two- and three-dimensional objects in space using one's mind. Males consistently outperform females on mental rotation tasks. Mental rotation is a skill linked to success in and entry into the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. One modern-day approach to the study of development, the relational developmental systems framework, calls for examination of multiple interdependent systems operating at different levels of analysis (psychological, cultural, and biological) to explain development. Using this framework, this entry explores the development of mental rotation skill by examining research on six systems: working memory, cognitive strategy selection and flexibility, spatial anxiety, spatial-relational language, spatial play, and motor skill. It also explores future research ideas for the study of the development of mental rotation.
