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Non-rigid spatial thinking, or mental transformations where the distance between two points in an object changes (e.g., folding, breaking, bending), is required for many STEM fields but remains critically understudied. We developed and tested a non-rigid, ductile spatial skill measure based on reasoning about knots with 279 US adults (M = 30.90, SD 5.47 years; 76% White; 48% women). The resultant 54-item measure had good reliability (α = .88). Next, 147 US adults (M = 20.65, SD 2.80 years; 48% White; 56% women) completed existing spatial skills measures, the knot reasoning measure, a verbal skill measure, and surveys of current and childhood spatial activities. Knot reasoning performance was significantly, positively correlated with existing measures of spatial skill. Mental rotation and paper folding, but not bending, predicted knot reasoning task performance. We replicated work showing that men performed better than women on mental rotation and unexpectedly found that men also outperformed women on paper folding and knot reasoning, but not bending, tasks. Using structural equation modeling, we found several significant mediation effects. Men who reported less masculine-stereotyped spatial activity engagement had higher performance on the mental rotation and knot reasoning tasks. Women who reported greater engagement in feminine-stereotyped spatial activities had higher paper folding and backwards knot reasoning performance. Spatial skills did not differ among math-intensive STEM, non-math-intensive STEM, and non-STEM majors. The studies introduce a reliable measure of non-rigid, ductile string transformations and provide initial evidence of the role of gender and gendered spatial activities on non-rigid spatial skills. 

Geology logline: How a catastrophic series of floods were recognized by J Harlen Bretz and Joseph Pardee to have formed the Channeled Scablands of eastern Washington State, USA. Cognitive science logline: Runnable mental models, mental simulations of geological processes applied to spe- cific events, 

Recent studies have identified an incomplete student understanding of how elastic rebound causes earthquakes. We hypothesized that realistic imaging of spatial patterns in ground motions over the course of the earthquake cycle would improve student understanding. Incorporating spatial change information in the form of both motion vectors and before-during-after contrasts should require most students to change an existing mental model or develop a new model. Using a quasi-experimental design, we developed instructional interventions for presenting variations in ground motion, including map views of fence bending and GPS velocity vectors. We measured the impact on student performance based on assignment questions related to the ground motion at different points in the earthquake cycle following several interventions in four undergraduate courses from introductory to upper level over 4 years. The first round of study was a free-response format and then multiple-choice answers were created from the most common answers, including new “worked example” questions inquiring about the reasons answers were correct or incorrect. We identified two key misconceptions based on student answer choices: (a) difficulty in recognizing velocity vector patterns when presented in a new reference frame, and (b) difficulty in reasoning that the fault must be locked for the strain to accumulate and produce an earthquake. Our analysis indicates the largest performance increases occur with simple animations that demonstrate the bending, breaking, and rebending of a fence, along with associated GPS vectors, plotted successively in different reference frames. This suggests difficulties in understanding elastic rebounds can be mitigated when spatial patterns are presented in a context with repeated opportunities to make predictions combined with animations to support mental models that connect the spatial patterns with ground movement.