The Difference And Mechanism Of Mental Rotation Of Three-dimensional Objects Under Three Kinds Of Rotation Axes

Mental rotation is a kind of spatial representation transformation ability to imagine oneself or object rotation,and it is an important part of human spatial ability.Compared with the rotation of two-dimensional graphics on the plane,the rotation of objects in space has more changes.When we carry out the mental rotation task of threedimensional graphics,different rotation axes are usually considered to be important factors affecting efficiency.The research on the difference of rotation axis in mental rotation is of great significance for us to understand and analyze human spatial behavior.In the study of mental rotation under different rotation axes,the mental rotation around the vertical axis is considered to have more advantages than the psychological rotation around other rotation axes because of the coincidence of the rotation axis with the gravity axis.However,compared with the experimental results of psychological rotation under weightlessness,the effect of gravity was not found.People’s daily experience of rotating objects is mainly about the rotation around the vertical axis,which is also considered to make the mental rotation under the vertical axis more efficient,but the Shepherd geometry used in the experiment can not be seen in daily life,so experience is not the reason for the difference of mental rotation under different rotation axes.In the previous psychological rotation studies,the psychological rotation paradigm presented around the stimulus pattern was mostly used,but the influence of the relative position of the stimulus pattern was not taken into account,so it is necessary to explore the difference of lower mental rotation of different rotation axes from the perspective of relative position.In this study,a two-factor intra-subject design was used to explore the differences of psychological rotation under three different rotation axes: Z axis（vertical）,X axis（horizontal）and P axis（tilt）.In this study,the rotation axis judgment part and the whole part of the mental rotation task under multiple rotation axes were separated and tested separately to avoid mutual interference.In each of the two parts,about 30 adult subjects were selected by simple random sampling,the stimulating materials were presented through the display,and the response data were collected with keyboard and mouse.The results show that there is no difference in psychological rotation under the three different rotation axes,regardless of the correct rate or reaction time,and the dominant effect of gravity axis（vertical axis）is caused by the left and right appearance of the stimulus pattern.This study introduces the influence factor of the relative position of stimulus,improves the experimental paradigm in previous studies,and creates a set of material library and paradigm for judging the axis of rotation,which complements and modifies the related research on the axis of rotation in the experiment of mental rotation.Conclusion: 1.The rotation axis is not the cause of the difference in reaction time.2.There is an interaction between the rotation axis and the presentation position in the mental rotation task,and the reaction time is shorter when the rotation axis is perpendicular to the presentation position.3.The relationship between the relative position and the rotation axis not only affects the rotation process in the mental rotation task,but also affects the judgment process of the rotation axis.When the relative position is perpendicular to the rotation axis to be judged,the judgment of the rotation axis will be more efficient.