The six spatial orientation tests cluster into a single Navigation factor that is 64% heritable and captures 66–100% of each test's heritability¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? A common pathway twin model showed the Navigation factor was 64% heritable, with shared genetic variance accounting for most of each test's heritability; no standardised effect size was printed, so magnitude is uncoded. → Malanchini 2020

Evidence¶

Malanchini 2020¶

Malanchini, M., Rimfeld, K., Shakeshaft, N. G., McMillan, A., Schofield, K. L., Rodic, M., Rossi, V., Kovas, Y., Dale, P. S., Tucker-Drob, E. M. & Plomin, R. (2020). Evidence for a unitary structure of spatial cognition beyond general intelligence. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-020-0067-8

q3 · i? · associational · r3

Common pathway twin model on the six VR orientation tests in TEDS. "The heritability of the common navigation factor was 64%"; between 66 and 100% of each test's heritability was captured by the common factor, while 64–90% of nonshared environmental variance was test-specific.

"We found that the heritability of the common navigation factor was 64% (95% CIs = 0.41–0.91); shared environmental and nonshared environmental factors accounted for smaller proportions of variance, 8% (95% CIs 0.00 –0.43) and 28% (95% CIs 0.21 –0.36), respectively."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The general Spatial Ability factor is 84% heritable, with shared genetic variance underlying clustering across all sixteen tests and no meaningful shared environmental contribution — a broader claim this one bears on
• Spatial orientation skills can be measured reliably with a gamified virtual-environment battery, with average test–retest reliability r = 0.74 — related