The Eye-movements Study On University Students With Different Cognitive Styles In The Mental Rotation Problem

Cognitive psychology is an important variable of individual differences, and also one of the important dimensions of personality structure.American psychologist Carl Jung first focuses on which strategies were studied individually. After that, said the Witkin, American psychologist, known as "the father of cognitive style", improved the theory and eventually come up with conceive of field of cognitive theoretical. The theory is that the field dependence of the people are often clues with the outside world in the field of view of cognitive judgment; However often with its own internal clues field independence cognitive judgment.Mental rotation is an important part in the study of representation theory, is an independent psychological processes. In this study, the rotating body and rotate objects linked by three factors mixing experiments, the use of the eye tracker technology to track data of eye movement, analysis of college students mental rotation in different cognitive mode, designed to give a different cognitive style reference to better prediction of their own in some ways such as growth and future success, and choose more suitable for their own areas of development.Described the first part of the research on the related theories, including the basic theory and methods of measurement of cognitive mode, cognitive mode of physiological basis and applied research; basic theory of mental rotation, mental rotation neurophysiological mechanisms, psychological rotation of the individual differences and affection of the relationship between mental rotation factors and mental rotation and eye movement. It totally combines the hot issues in the cognitive mode and mental rotation.The second part is empirical study which is consisted in two parts.Through the use of eye movement measurement methods, the differences in mental rotation experiments with diversity of cognitive mode object under the condition of different stimuli and physiological mechanisms.The first part of the Chinese version of the Houcan preparation of Embedded Figures Test screening test,114college students, selected27right-handed subjects (field-dependent group was10; the middle of the field group were8and the independence group is9). The second part is the experimental part, consisted by two experiment parts. By selecting the characters and letters two common cognitive materials, use of eye movement measurement techniques to study the impact of different cognitive mode of college students’ mental rotation.Two experiments is3(cognitive mode)*2(As/mirror)*6(rotation angle) mixed experimental design, in which the three factors of cognitive mode and just as/mirroring, rotation angle between subjects design, just as/mirror rotation angle between the within-subject design (repeated measure two factors).Comprehensive experimental results in following conclusions:1.Chinese characters and letters in the mental rotation cognitive processing, reaction time was an inverted U-shaped curve. It is showed that grow with the increase of the rotational angle of rotation to180°, the reaction is the longest, the trend of the curve on both sides of the midline symmetry of180°.2.it is showed that the correct rate illustrated of a U-shaped curve, which came from Chinese characters and letters in the mental rotation cognitive processing.The angle decreases as the correct rate increasing rotation, the lowest rate of rotation to180°, the correct and trend of the curve on both sides of180°to the center line of symmetry.3.Let focus on Chinese characters and letters on mental rotation and eye movement. The result show that Chinese characters greater than the letter, in the aspect of number of total fixation, saccade frequency and diameter of the pupil of the eye moving targets. Subsequently, as the boundary point of180°, the change trend of the curve on both sides of the symmetrical shape.4.The reaction time test show that field independence test is shorter than the field dependence, and the correct rate; the middle of the field of in between. Three types of test reaction, the correct rate curve trend is similar.5.On eye movement test of field dependence and the field independence indicated that total fixation times and fewer saccades which between in the middle of the field. The curve trend of the total number of fixation of the three categories, number of saccades and pupil diameter are all similar to each other.Mental rotation is an analog process and is similar to object physical rotation. But this theory also experience some intermediate stage. Besides, the rotation process to a certain strategy, policy turning point occurred in180°, in order to showed obvious wisdom color.