Spatial Processing in Infancy Predicts Both Spatial and Mathematical Aptitude in Childhood

Abstract

Despite considerable interest in the role of spatial intelligence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) achievement, little is known about the ontogenetic origins of individual differences in spatial aptitude or their relation to later accomplishments in STEM disciplines. The current study provides evidence that spatial processes present in infancy predict interindividual variation in both spatial and mathematical competence later in development. Using a longitudinal design, we found that children's performance on a brief visuospatial change-detection task administered between 6 and 13 months of age was related to their spatial aptitude (i.e., mental-transformation skill) and mastery of symbolic-math concepts at 4 years of age, even when we controlled for general cognitive abilities and spatial memory. These results suggest that nascent spatial processes present in the first year of life not only act as precursors to later spatial intelligence but also predict math achievement during childhood.

Why Are Spatial Skill and Mathematics Related?

“…Other studies have focused on children, sometimes starting at very young ages. For example, in one study (Lauer & Lourenco, ), infants' ability to discriminate mirror images from nonmirror images at 6 and 13 months predicted variation in the children's mathematics performance at 4 years. Similar results have been reported for preschoolers (i.e., spatial skills at 3 years predicted mathematics performance at 5 years; Verdine et al., ), as well as for older children (i.e., spatial skills at 5 years predicted mathematics performance at 7 years; Gilligan, Flouri, & Farran, ).…”

Facilitating Development Research: Suggestions for Recruiting and Re-Recruiting Children and Families

“…Across developmental sub-fields—from basic cognition (e.g., Lauer and Lourenco, 2016) and language development (e.g., Can et al, 2013) to mental (e.g., Agrawal et al, 1978) and physical health (e.g., Fein et al, 2014) to applied interventions targeting children (e.g., Campbell et al, 2012) and their families (e.g., Huston et al, 2005)—researchers are engaging in longitudinal work, re-recruiting families who participated in one study to gain a better understanding of children's developmental trajectories. Frequently, research teams do not decide to begin embarking on this work until several months or years after an original study has concluded.…”

“…Researchers have conducted such longitudinal work across a host of domains, including spatial cognition (e.g., Lauer and Lourenco, 2016), language (e.g., Can et al, 2013), literacy and mathematics achievement (e.g., Krajewski and Schneider, 2009), temperament (e.g., Schwartz et al, 2003), personality (e.g., Harris et al, 2016), memory (e.g., Forman et al, 2011), self-regulation (e.g., Ayduk et al, 2000), health and physical development (e.g., Fein et al, 2014), mental health (e.g., Agrawal et al, 1978), and media use (e.g., Hanson, 2017). Similarly, researchers who evaluate interventions also have engaged in comparable, sometimes non-prospective, longitudinal research years after the conclusion of interventions.…”

Spatial thinking in infancy: Origins and development of mental rotation between 3 and 10 months of age

“…MR skills are also relevant to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, so they are likely to be important for various professional careers like architecture, engineering, navigation, and medicine (Kerkman, Wise, & Harwood, 2000;Uttal & Cohen, 2012). MR has been linked to competent performance in geometry (Newcombe, Booth, & Gunderson, 2019) and to mathematical competence more generally (Frick, 2018;Lauer & Lourenco, 2016;van Tetering, van der Donk, de Groot, & Jolles, 2019;Verdine, Golinkoff, Hirsh-Pasek, & Newcombe, 2017;Young, Levine, & Mix, 2018). In addition, training MR has positive effects on children's math performance (Cheng & Mix, 2014;Cheung, Sung, & Lourenco, 2019).…”