Santa Barbara Sense of Direction (SBSOD)
Email the Lead Researcher: Mary Hegarty, University of California, Santa Barbara
Reference:
Hegarty, M. Richardson, A. E., Montello, D. R., Lovelace, K & Subbiah, I. (2002). Development of a Self-Report Measure of Environmental Spatial Ability. Intelligence, 30, 425-447.
The Test Instrument: https://hegarty-lab.psych.ucsb.edu/node/226
Scoring Syntax: https://hegarty-lab.psych.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/2022-06/SBSODsyntax.zip
The recommended scoring procedure for the scale is to first reverse score the positively phrased items. This ensures that all items are coded such that a high number indicates more ability and a low number indicates less ability. The items that should be reverse scored are items 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 14. After reverse scoring, then sum the scores for all of the items together, and then divide the total by the number of items (15) to compute the overall score for the scale (average score across items). Using this technique, the score will be a number between 1 and 7 where the higher the score, the better the perceived sense of direction. Using this SPSS syntax will ensure proper scoring.
Information Updated as of May 1, 2024