The role of spatial, verbal, numerical, and general reasoning abilities in complex word problem solving for young female and male adults

Abstract

This study analyzed the relative importance of different cognitive abilities for solving complex mathematical word problems (CWPs)-a demanding task of high relevance for diverse fields and contexts. We investigated the effects of spatial, verbal, numerical, and general reasoning abilities as well as gender on CWP performance among N = 1282 firstyear university engineering students. Generalized linear mixed models unveiled significant unique effects of spatial ability, β = 0.284, verbal ability, β = 0.342, numerical ability, β = 0.164, general reasoning, β = 0.248, and an overall gender effect in favor of male students, β = 0.285. Analyses revealed negligible to small gender effects in verbal and general reasoning ability. Despite a gender effect in spatial ability, d = 0.48, and numerical ability, d = 0.30-both in favor of male students-further analyses showed that effects of all measured cognitive abilities on CWP solving were comparable for both women and men. Our results underpin that CWP solving requires a broad facet of cognitive abilities besides mere mathematical competencies. Since gender differences in CWP solving were not fully explained by differences in the four measured cognitive abilities, gender-specific attitudes, beliefs, and emotions could be considered possible affective moderators of CWP performance.

Spatial reasoning, mathematics, and gender: Do spatial constructs differ in their contribution to performance?

“…Therefore, in Study 2, three independent measures of the spatial constructs under consideration were used. Previous research into the relationship between spatial reasoning and math have highlighted the importance of controlling for verbal skills to aid interpretation of the analysis (Mix et al, 2016;Reinhold et al, 2020); therefore, a verbal reasoning measure was included in Study 2. The SRI (Ramful et al, 2017) has no set time limit.…”

“…Given its utility for the development of geometric reasoning, it is reasonable that MR skill is closely aligned to mathematical proficiency in the middle school years (Bruce & Hawes, 2015;Mo e, 2018). To date, MR is one of the most commonly studied forms of spatial reasoning in its connection with mathematics, with strong links to both standardized mathematics achievement (Lachance & Mazzocco, 2006;Reinhold et al, 2020;Sorby & Panther, 2020) and geometric problemsolving (Battista, 1990).…”

“…Gender differences in both spatial reasoning and mathematics have been well researched (Ganley & Vasilyeva, 2011;Linn & Petersen, 1985;Mix & Cheng, 2012;Sorby, 2009); however, there is little research examining whether the relationship between spatial reasoning and mathematics is different for males and females (Casey, 2013;Halpern & Collaer, 2005;Reinhold et al, 2020). Gender differences are found in some but not all spatial constructs (Linn & Petersen, 1985;Voyer, Voyer, & Bryden, 1995).…”

“…Spatial underpinnings of mathematics A significant number of correlational studies have indicated that spatial and mathematics skills are related (Baenninger & Newcombe, 1995;Frick, 2019;Gunderson et al, 2012;Mix et al, 2016;M€ ohring, Newcombe, Levine, & Frick, 2016;Newcombe, Levine, & Mix, 2015;Reinhold et al, 2020;Sorby & Panther, 2020). Intervention studies have provided further evidence that targeted training of spatial skills can improve mathematics performance (Cheng & Mix, 2014;Lowrie et al, 2017Lowrie et al, , 2019.…”

The relation between mathematics achievement and spatial reasoning

“…Another emergent theme within theoretical considerations is the contextualization of spatial reasoning within other cognitive skills (Reinhold et al 2020), content knowledge (Fujita et al 2020), and cultural factors (Owens 2020; Sorby & Panther 2020). Using a generalized linear mixed model, Reinhold et al 2020 found that students use spatial ability, verbal ability, numerical ability, and general reasoning in solving complex word problems. Despite a male advantage on spatial and numerical ability, the relative unique contributions of the four cognitive skills remain constant across genders.…”