Comparison of the Moderating Effect of Mental Rotation Ability on the amount of Learning by Mental Exercise Method in a Motor Skill

Background: There is few research on teaching people about mental rotation skills. The first step in this field is to reveal that, which educational programs help individuals improve their performance.
Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare the moderating effect of mental rotation ability on the amount of learning by mental exercise method in a motor skill (table tennis forehand).
Methods: For this purpose, a semi-experimental method and pre-test and post-test research design were used. First, all subjects were evaluated by mental rotation test and then, according to the test scores divided into 2 two groups of 15 individuals (a mental exercise group with high mental rotation ability); (A mental exercise group with low mental rotation ability). Duration of intervention in this research was 4 weeks, 3 sessions per week and each session were 20 minutes of mental exercise. After completion of exercises, Acquisition, retention (immediate and delayed) and transfer tests were taken from both groups. Mental rotation ability of the subjects was assessed using the MRT mental rotation test(Peters,1995). In addition, the level of their mental imagery was evaluated by a movement imagery questionnaire- 3 (Williams et al., 2012) and forehand table tennis skill were assessed by a hit accuracy test. For analysis of the data, repeated measure test was performed using SPSS software.
Results: The results of the between-group comparison for high and low mental rotation variable showed that four weeks of mental exercise intervention caused a significant difference compared to the pre-test.
Conclusion: There is a difference between acquisition, retention, and transfer of forehand table tennis skill in individuals with high and low mental rotation in the mental exercise group.