Spatial Ability: What Is Spatial Visualization?

Spatial visualization refers to the ability to think in three dimensions and mentally maneuver two- or three-dimensional (i.e., 2D or 3D) objects and images. Professionals may use this skill, but it can also be used in daily life. You may have used spatial visualization if you have used a map to get somewhere, played with Legos, or organized items in a drawer. To understand this skill further, looking at what it means, how to use it, and what it means when you have difficulty visualizing can be helpful.

What is spatial visualization?

People have unique strengths. Some people may be gifted athletes, while others can sight-read music. Maybe you are particularly skilled at trigonometry, comforting your friends, or telling stories. Your skills can give insights into personality. 

If someone is skilled at dancing, it may make sense to believe they have heightened bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Others, however, may be more difficult to discern. For instance, visual-spatial intelligence often confuses people. However, like the other intelligences proposed by Gardner, visual-spatial intelligence translates various day-to-day skills. One of these is spatial visualization.

The importance of spatial visualization in engineering, science, and other fields

Engineers are one example of professionals who may use spatial visualization every day. Some schools require students to take a spatial visualization assessment before enrolling in an engineering program. Similarly, some engineering programs include seminars to help students enhance their spatial visualization skills.

How spatial visualization works in the brain

Spatial visualization is a complex neural process that is primarily governed by the parietal lobe. This is the part of the brain that senses location, using high-level cognitive skills to create visual images, including a clear spatial map. Thanks to the parietal lobe, we can perform complex spatial visualization tasks, such as: 

• Spatial perception
• Discerning spatial relationships
• Mental rotation
• Spatial transformations

The importance of spatial visualization in engineering, science, and other fields

Engineers are one example of professionals who may use spatial visualization every day. Some schools require students to take a spatial visualization assessment before enrolling in an engineering program. Student performance on such an exam may affect their admission or placement. Similarly, some engineering programs include seminars to help students learn and enhance their spatial visualization skills.

What is spatial visualization, and how is it used in science, mathematics, and art?

Engineering can be broken down into several sub-disciplines. However, on a basic level, engineering is about designing, developing, and improving products. Civil engineers might design tunnels or bridges, while mechanical engineers develop machines and appliances. Engineers consider how to turn their two-dimensional design into a three-dimensional object, so spatial visualization can be crucial.

Although spatial visualization is often paired with science and math performance, other professions also use this type of intelligences. For example, artists and graphic designers might use the same spatial visualization skills engineers rely on to plan projects and implement them.

When creating art, artists might use spatial visualization to determine how three-dimensional objects should look next to each other. What size something is, what it looks like from a specific angle, and how it should look compared to environmental stimuli can all draw on spatial visualization skills. Other professionals who may use spatial visualization daily include: architects, geologists, surgeons, and photographers, among others. 

• Architects
• Geologists
• Surgeons
• Photographers

Everyday uses of spatial visualization skills

People can use spatial visualization outside of a professional setting, as well. For example, you might use this skill when buying build-it-yourself furniture. Available in the box and ready to assemble, flat-pack furniture often comes with picture-heavy directions. Building your furniture may seem complicated. However, aside from the little wrenches that may come in the package, spatial visualization is the primary tool you can use to complete your furniture. 

Like putting together furniture, following directions often requires spatial visualization. For example, using a map can be considered a spatial activity. You must look at the map and determine how the two-dimensional image applies to your physical environment.

Sewing clothing from a pattern may also use this skill. To sew a shirt, for instance, you might look at a drawing of a clothing item and think about how to bring that drawing to life. Likewise, making the garment the correct size can require spatial visualization skills.

Another example of spatial organization is organizing groceries in a car's trunk, packing a suitcase, or putting away clothes in a closet. Spatial visualization can allow you to visualize tasks mentally to make them a reality. 

How is spatial visualization assessed in education and the workplace?

Because spatial visualization can be necessary in the workplace and daily life, psychologists have created specific spatial ability tests to assess this skill. Sometimes completed in schools, universities, or workplaces, these tests may show how developed your spatial abilities are.

Spatial visualization tests in the university education environment

Universities (particularly engineering programs) often have their own unique spatial visualization tests. These tests look at students' readiness to enter their specific program. In some cases, the university may suggest that students with lower scores enroll in a spatial visualization course. Below are a few courses that might be used:

• Mental rotation test
• Mental cutting test
• Form board test
• Surface development test
• Paper folding test

Mental rotation test

A mental rotation test presents the test-taker with several shapes. One of the shapes is designated as the goal. Participants must then choose which shape could be rotated to match the goal shape. In digital tests, the test-taker may need to rotate the shape to match the goal.

Mental cutting test

The mental cutting test presents the participant with an object. The object is then "cut." The participant must decide which of the provided options would match the shape if cut.

Form board test

The form board test works similarly to a tangram puzzle. Participants use smaller shapes to fill a larger given shape correctly.

Surface development test

Test-takers determine how a flat shape might match a three-dimensional shape by identifying corresponding sides in the surface development test. A common form of this involves a cube, although more challenging shapes are often used.

Paper folding test

The paper folding test requires participants to match a folded piece of paper with holes to an unfolded piece of paper. To succeed, participants must mentally manipulate the piece of paper.

Improving spatial visualization skills

If you are not skilled at spatial visualization, you're not alone. Although some people may be naturally better at spatial visualization, anyone can improve this skill. Howard Gardner stressed that different types of intelligence can be learned, developed, or improved, and there are many ways to start. 

One way to learn spatial visualization is through methods that are often enjoyable activities, like games or hobbies, that some people already partake in. According to researchers, video games can improve spatial visualization skills. Studies have found that action video games, in particular, can help people improve their spatial abilities.

Because video games involve moving through three-dimensional environments or manipulating three-dimensional objects using spatial transformation, they can serve as a training ground for spatial visualization skills. However, a less-developed video game, like Tetris, can also profoundly impact a person's spatial abilities.

Other activities that can improve spatial visualization skills

Artistic hobbies, like drawing, sculpting, or origami, can also hone a person's spatial awareness. Like a professional artist may use spatial visualization, you can practice thinking about two and three-dimensional objects while drawing. Sculpting or making miniature models can also be effective learning strategies.

Playing chess or putting together puzzles may also enhance your spatial visualization skills. Tangrams, puzzles that use the same seven shapes to form pictures, can also promote spatial visualization training. 

Other ways to pursue self-improvement

Some people find spatial visualization extremely difficult. Switching between two- and three-dimensional objects and then maneuvering those objects can require mental discipline. Similarly, seeking mental health care can seem daunting and require mental effort. Like improving your spatial abilities or analytic thinking, however, you may benefit from speaking to a mental health professional about spatial awareness and other mental tasks.

Benefits of online therapy

Even if mental healthcare seems out of reach, you may be able to seek professional support for your concerns through online platforms like BetterHelp. Online forms of treatment can be beneficial if you seek ways to improve your spatial visualization, address mental health concerns, or enhance your quality of life through self-improvement and self-care. It can also save you time and money that you might otherwise dedicate to commuting, childcare, and other expenses that can come with in-person appointments.

Research suggests that online therapy can be as effective as in-person therapy in reducing unwanted mental health symptoms and improving quality of life. An online therapist can provide guidance and advice for setting goals or finding the right resources for your life, including ways to boost your spatial visualization skills.