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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 3, 2025

RBDT: A Computerized Task System based in Transposition for the Continuous Analysis of Relational Behavior Dynamics in Humans

RBDT: A Computerized Task System based in Transposition for the Continuous Analysis of Relational Behavior Dynamics in Humans

Published on: July 17, 2021

Relational language influences young children's number relation skills.

Jenny Yun-Chen Chan¹, Maria D Sera¹, Michèle M M Mazzocco¹

¹Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Child Development

|February 15, 2022

Summary

Early exposure to relational language significantly enhances mathematical skills in kindergartners. This language development is linked to improved number relation skills, including number line estimation and ordering.

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Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics BM-PROMA

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Development
Educational Psychology
Developmental Linguistics

Background:

Relational language is hypothesized to be a foundational element influencing the development of mathematical abilities.
Understanding the specific links between language and numerical cognition is crucial for early education strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the association between relational language and number relation skills in kindergartners.
To determine if relational language predicts later mathematical skills, controlling for other cognitive factors.

Main Methods:

A cohort of 104 U.S. kindergartners (mean age 5.9 years) participated in the study during the 2017-2018 academic year.
Relational language skills were assessed and correlated with number relation skills (cardinal, ordinal, spatial principles), including number line estimation and ordering.
Statistical analyses controlled for general verbal knowledge, executive function, and basic counting/number identification skills.

Main Results:

Relational language significantly predicted later number relation skills, particularly number line estimation (β = .30), after controlling for covariates.
The predictive relationship did not differ between children with initially low or high number relation skills, potentially due to data range limitations.

Conclusions:

Relational language appears to be a significant predictor of mathematical skills development in early childhood.
Number relation skills, such as number line estimation and ordering, may serve as a key pathway through which relational language influences broader mathematical competence.