Spatial features of mathematical equations may influence how people solve and interpret those equations. This study examined whether manipulations of spatial features affected how participants solved and interpreted equations involving the minus sign. Undergraduate participants (N = 91) solved multioperation arithmetic equations involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication (e.g., 25 - 3 + 2 × 5 = __). We varied the spacing of the final three operands and the position of the first operator relative to the adjacent operands. Participants also generated a story problem to correspond with a given equation. We evaluated the procedures that participants used in solving the equations by analysing both their solutions and their written work. Both close spacing of the final three operands and position of the first operation sign influenced the procedures that participants used. Both of the spatial manipulations also influenced participants' interpretations of the conceptual structure of the equations, as revealed in the story problems that they generated. These results have implications for understanding how people process mathematical symbols and for mathematics education.

A mixed‐method approach was used to explore parent and child perspectives on death in Mexico. Parents’ and children’s death‐related experiences and understanding of death were examined. While all children in this sample displayed a biological understanding of death, older children were less likely to endorse that all living things die. Children also displayed coexistence of beliefs related to death that can be attributed to both their biological and spiritual understanding of death. We also found that older children were more likely to report that a child should feel sad following the death of a loved one. These findings highlight how cultural practices shape the development of cognitive and affective processes related to death.

Young children’s growing access to touchscreen technology represents one of many contextual factors that may influence development. The focus of the current study was the impact of traditional versus electronic drawing materials on the quality of children’s drawings during the preschool years. Young children (2–5 years, N = 73) and a comparison group of adults (N = 24) copied shapes using three mediums: marker on paper, stylus on touchscreen tablet, finger on touchscreen tablet. Drawings were later deemed codable or uncodable (e.g., scribbles), and codable drawings were then scored for subjective quality on a 4-point scale. Girls and older children (vs. boys and younger children) produced more codable drawings; however, this gap closed when children drew with their finger on a tablet. Medium also affected the quality of adults’ drawings, favoring marker on paper. Thus, drawing on a tablet helped younger children produce drawings but resulted in lower quality drawings among adults. These findings underscore the importance of considering environmental constraints on drawing production. Moreover, since clinical assessments often include measures of drawing quality, and sometimes use tablet computers for drawing, these findings have practical implications for education and clinical practice.

Using a mixed-methods approach, we examined how participants' memories of socialization regarding death might influence their self-reported coping with losses in childhood and adulthood. We recruited 318 adults to complete an online survey. Path analyses indicated that participants who remembered their parents shielding them less from issues related to death reported better coping as children and adults. Qualitative responses suggested participants wanted to receive more information about death from their parents as they went through the grieving process. We highlight the potential benefits of socializing children about death, and how it may aid in their coping with death-related events.

Young children sometimes perform actions not afforded by the environmental context that they are currently in. Anecdotal reports and past research have suggested that young children sometimes attempt to perform actions with screen media that they cannot perform successfully given the constraints of the media. These behaviors have been defined as a type of action error we refer to as media errors. We report on two studies that examined the nature and frequency of these behaviors in young children. Study 1 was an online retrospective survey of 292 caregivers' reports of their young children's (ages 8 months to 4 years) media errors. Study 2 was a 6-month prospective study of 45 families with children initially between the ages of 10 and 24 months. Across the two studies, a substantial portion of caregivers reported that their children had performed one or more media errors that were confirmed by experienced coders (30% in Study 1, 62% in Study 2). In both studies, the only tested factor that was reliably related to the frequency of media errors was the child's age. Media errors were found to peak in late infancy and decrease significantly with age thereafter, suggesting that as children age and gain more experience with screen media they come to understand what this type of media affords for action.