Imagined Assembly of Visual-Object and Visual-Spatial Tasks of Different Difficulty

This study investigates cognitive processes during imagined assembly of visual-object and visual-spatial tasks across varying difficulty levels. We developed an Imagined Assembly Task showing visual-object and visual-spatial educational play materials and target outputs that can be made from those materials. Participants performed this task, visualizing assembly steps, reporting imagery distinctness, and counting mental steps, while also rating tasks’ educational value and at-attractiveness. They also reported their imagery skills and art- and STEM-related aptitudes. Results indicated that spatial tasks required fewer mental steps but did not differ in imagery distinctness from object tasks. Higher task difficulty led to increased mental steps and decreased imagery distinctness for both types, with spatial tasks showing greater declines in imagery distinctness. Spatial tasks were rated higher in educational value, linked to STEM, and expected to be more attractive to boys, especially at higher difficulty levels, while object tasks were associated with art education and rated as more attractive for girls. Participants with stronger object imagery skills showed fewer mental steps and greater imagery distinctness, while spatial imagery skills correlated with distinctness in spatial tasks. This research offers insights into object and spatial imagery processing, with implications for creating instructional tools across Arts and STEM domains.