Exploring object visualization abilities in artistic domains
It is with great pleasure that RUFA actively collaborates on the scientific project “Exploring object visualization abilities in artistic domains“. The research project is coordinated by Associate Professor Maria Kozhevnikov, principal investigator, and her laboratory at the National University of Singapore (NUS), in collaboration with Harvard Medical School. The main objective of the research is to understand the visualization skills and dimensions of creativity that may be important for success in different professions.
Would you like to take part in the research project and undergo the test?
Contact our team now at: [orientamento@unirufa.it](mailto:orientamento@unirufa.it). For further details, contact the RUFA scientific coordinator: [rene.angeramo@unirufa.it](mailto:rene.angeramo@unirufa.it)
Recent neuroscientific research has demonstrated the existence of two different types of mental imagery (visualization), supported by different areas of the brain, which respectively relate to the processing of object-based and spatial visual information. While object visual intelligence reflects a more “holistic” type of visual processing, more closely linked to the visualization of objects and scenes in terms of shape, colour and texture, spatial visual intelligence is a more analytical and sequential type of visual processing based on attention.
A one-hour battery of online tests will be administered in the classroom to all RUFA students, with the aim of assessing different components of spatial and object visualization abilities, together with self-assessment questionnaires designed to evaluate individual preferences (object vs spatial, holistic vs sequential).
All assessments included in the battery are standardised instruments validated by Professor Kozhevnikov’s laboratory in previous studies and widely used throughout the world. The project will also involve Dr Laura Piccardi’s laboratory at the Department of Psychology of Sapienza University of Rome, which will supervise the part of the project concerning the administration of the online tests to scientists, engineers and architecture students at Sapienza University, as well as Dr René Angeramo, psychologist and psychotherapist, Head of the Guidance and Counselling Office and scientific coordinator for the part of the project involving RUFA.
The project therefore aims to explore the relationship between different types of creativity (artistic and scientific) and visualization abilities (for example, spatial visualization abilities and object visualization abilities).
Maria Kozhevnikov
Maria Kozhevnikov’s research focuses on examining the neural mechanisms of visual imagery and exploring ways to train visualization abilities. In particular, she investigates how individual differences in visualization ability affect more complex activities, such as spatial navigation, learning, and problem-solving in mathematics, science, and art. She also explores ways to train mental imagery abilities and design immersive three-dimensional virtual environments that can adapt to individual differences and learning styles.
Maria earned her PhD from the Technion (Israel) in collaboration with UC Santa Barbara. Since 2001, she has held faculty positions at Rutgers University and George Mason University. From 2005 to 2007, she served as Director of the Science of Learning Centers programme at the US National Science Foundation. Maria is currently Associate Professor of Psychology at the National University of Singapore. She is also Visiting Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School’s Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and a Research Associate in Neuroscience at Massachusetts General Hospital.