University students in two disctinct branches show performance differences on the mangina-test scores

Abstract

Objective: The Mangina-Test is a very useful neuropsychometric tool for the diagnosis of varying degrees of Learning Abilities and Disabilities (LD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and comorbid ADHD with LD. This test measures "Analytical-Specific Visual Perceptual Skills" and renders detailed information on the capacity for judging the exact direction, spatial orientation, size and dimension of stimuli pertaining to specific perceptual analysis. The aim of the present study was to compare the Mangina-Test performance of university students who attend Architecture (20 females, 19 males) to those attending the various departments of Social Sciences (20 females, 20 males). Method: The sample consisted of 80 students who were 19-30 years of age (X=21.65±1.65) and were attending Architecture or Social Sciences (Departments of Psychology, Sociology, Business Administration, Economics, International Relations, Philosophy). Exclusion criteria were: uncorrected visual deficits, symptoms of depression, head injury, history of neurological and/or psychiatric disorders, taking or having recently stopped antidepressant medications, psychostimulants or other psychotropic drugs. Besides the Mangina-Test scores, Cumulative Grade Point Averages (CGPA) and State-Wide University Entrance Examination (SUEA) scores were also obtained. The latter score represents level of knowledge with regards to the high school curriculum and the capacity to reason. Findings: Principal component analysis was performed to study the factor structure of these scores. The scores of the Mangina-Test and SUEA loaded on the same factor. Since t-test for independent groups also revealed a significant difference (p=.0001) between the student groups, the effect of the "composite" capacity (information on curricular content and the ability to reason) that SUEA scores represent was statistically controlled by using it as a covariate in multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). A 2x2 MANOVA (student group: Architecture/ Social Sciences; sex: male/female) revealed a significant effect of student group (Wilk's lambda: F(9,67)=2.463, p=.017). There was a non significant difference between the student groups on CGPA. In contrast, Architecture students scored significantly higher than Social Sciences students on the Mangina-Test scores that pertain to size and dimension judgments and on mixed judgments where combined size, dimension, direction and spatial orientation analysis of stimuli is critical. Discussion: Even after controlling for the SUEA score, the Mangina-Test stimuli show selective sensitivity to the "Analytical-Specific Visual Perception" of Architecture and Social Sciences students. These findings demonstrate that the usefulness of the Mangina-Test is not only for the diagnosis of varying degrees of abilities in normal and disabilities in certain pathological conditions, but also, in the description of the specific perceptual characteristics of normal adult populations enrolled in two different university branches. This result, which is in consistency with these two fields of education, provides additional proof of the Mangina Test in terms of construct validity for Turkish society.