Can 3-Dimensional Visualization Enhance Mental Rotation (MR) Ability?: A Systematic Review

This review aims to explore how mental rotation (MR) ability is enhanced using three-dimensional visualization. Earlier mental rotation trainings entailed two-dimensional drawings and representations that lack the necessary visual information present in three-dimensional spatial representations. Therefore, this review limits its scope to three-dimensional visualization-based training interventions using monoscopic, stereoscopic, and autostereoscopic 3-D displays as well as augmented and mixed reality displays to understand what representational fidelity can offer to improve mental rotation ability. ScienceDirect, Eric, SpringerLink and Web of Science databases were searched. A total of 51 articles were selected for the review. Results indicated that all studies but one found that 3-D visualization-based training significantly improved MR ability regardless of the technology and target group used. Allowing views from multiple angles was the most prominent affordance of 3-D visualization for MR training. The results also tentatively suggest that 3-D MR training is more effective than 2-D MR training. Furthermore, these systems may benefit females more than males while not imposing a greater cognitive load than 2-D training. The degree of immersion positively affects MR performance.