Gender differences in spatial aptitude are well established by adulthood, particularly when measured by tasks that require the mental rotation of objects (Linn & Petersen, 1985; Voyer, Voyer, & ...Bryden, 1995). Although the male advantage in mental rotation performance represents one of the most robust gender differences in adult cognition, the developmental trajectory of this male advantage remains a topic of considerable debate. To address this debate, we meta-analyzed 303 effect sizes pertaining to gender differences in mental rotation performance among 30,613 children and adolescents. We found significant developmental change in the magnitude of the gender difference: A small male advantage in mental rotation performance first emerged during childhood and then subsequently increased with age, reaching a moderate effect size during adolescence. Procedural factors, including task and stimulus characteristics, also accounted for variability in reported gender differences, even when controlling for the effect of age. These results demonstrate that both age and procedural characteristics moderate the magnitude of the gender difference in mental rotation throughout development.
Public Significance Statement
This meta-analysis documents the development of gender differences in spatial reasoning, finding that boys first outperform girls on mental rotation tasks during primary school and that this male advantage subsequently increases with age into adolescence. Because children's spatial skills predict their later science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) achievement, addressing the gender difference in mental rotation early in childhood may help to minimize later gender disparities in STEM success.
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.
Mathematical and spatial reasoning abilities during childhood predict later success in male-dominated science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines, yet relatively little is known ...about the affective correlates of children's math and spatial performance or gender differences therein. In the present research, we assessed math and spatial anxiety in 394 elementary schoolchildren (ages 6 to 12 years) and investigated their relations to math achievement and spatial reasoning performance, respectively. In addition, we evaluated children's verbal anxiety and reading ability to determine the domain specificity of relations between anxiety and cognitive performance during childhood. At the zero-order level, math, spatial, and verbal anxiety were moderately correlated with one another and with children's performance in the corresponding cognitive domains. Importantly, however, all three forms of anxiety displayed some domain specificity in their relations to cognitive performance. Gender differences in math and spatial anxiety were also domain-specific, with girls reporting significantly greater math and spatial anxiety, but not verbal anxiety, across the age range tested. These results demonstrate that math and spatial anxiety represent unique constructs early in development, exhibiting specificity in their associations with gender and cognitive performance during the first years of formal schooling.
Infants exhibit visual preferences for gender-typed objects (e.g., dolls, toy vehicles) that parallel the gender-typed play preferences of preschool-aged children, but the developmental stability of ...individual differences in early emerging gender-typed preferences has not yet been characterized. In the present study, we examined the longitudinal association between infants' (N = 51) performance on an object-preference task, administered between 6 and 13 months of age, and their play preferences at 4 years of age. Greater visual interest in a toy truck relative to a doll in infancy predicted significantly greater male-typical toy and activity preferences (e.g., play with vehicles, videogames) at age 4. These findings suggest that gender-typed object preferences present during the 1st year of life may represent the developmental precursors of gender-typed play preferences observed later in childhood.
Accumulating evidence suggests that males outperform females on mental rotation tasks as early as infancy. Sex differences in object preference have also been shown to emerge early in development and ...precede sex-typed play in childhood. Although research with adults and older children is suggestive of a relationship between play preferences and visuospatial abilities, including mental rotation, little is known about the developmental origins of this relationship. The present study compared mental rotation ability and object preference in 6- to 13-month-old infants. We used a novel paradigm to examine individual differences in infants' mental rotation abilities as well as their differential preference for one of two sex-typed objects. A sex difference was found on both tasks, with boys showing an advantage in performance on the mental rotation task and exhibiting greater visual attention to the male-typed object (i.e., a toy truck) than to the female-typed object (i.e., a doll) in comparison to girls. Moreover, we found a relation between mental rotation and object preference that varied by sex. Greater visual interest in the male-typed object was related to greater mental rotation performance in boys, but not in girls. Possible explanations related to perceptual biases, prenatal androgen exposure, and experiential influences for this sex difference are discussed.
•Extracting target information from a graphic is difficult.•Presentation format differences challenge productive processes.•Children can successfully integrate across presentation formats.•Classroom ...contexts may exacerbate the challenge of cross-format integration.•The challenge of cross-format integration can be mitigated with support at encoding.
To build knowledge, separate yet related learning episodes can be integrated with one another and then used to derive new knowledge. Separate episodes are often experienced through different formats, such as text passages and graphic representations. Accordingly, in the present research, we tested integration of learning episodes provided through different presentation formats with children in the laboratory (Experiment 1; n = 24; M = 8.36 years) and in classrooms (Experiment 2; n = 85; M = 9.34 years and Experiment 3; n = 154; M = 10.67 years). Children in the laboratory were successful in both same-format and different-format conditions. Children in the classroom were also successful in both conditions, but in Exp. 2 showed a cost to integration across two different presentation formats compared to the same-format condition. In Exp. 3, greater support for encoding the graphic information was added and performance no longer showed a cost between conditions.
Objectives: This case study explores the application of a brief Integrated Behavioral Health-Prevention (IBH-P) model in a pediatric primary care setting that provides care to families experiencing ...complex psychosocial stressors. The model focuses on promoting social–emotional health and well-being while addressing structural and systemic inequities that hinder access to mental health care for families living in poverty and underresourced communities. The IBH-P visits use a universal, standardized approach, emphasizing trauma-informed care and recognizing the impact of caregiver well-being on the child. Method: This case study demonstrates the feasibility and impact of the IBH-P model through a case example of a Black family living below the federal poverty line. Results: The case study illustrates results previously documented in the literature regarding the impact of this IBH-P model. These include adherence to well child visits (WCVs), achieving developmental milestones on target, enhanced family distress tolerance and socioemotional well-being, reduced unnecessary emergency department visits, and sustained progress despite psychosocial risk factors. Conclusions: This case example highlights how IBH-P effectively supports families facing multiple challenges and promotes health equity for underresourced populations. It underscores the importance of culturally responsive care, standardization, and flexibility in building scalable and sustainable IBH programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)
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