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Pathways From Spatial Skills to Mathematics: The Roles of Gender and Fluid Reasoning.

Danielle Harris¹, Ilyse Resnick¹, Tracy Logan¹

¹University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia.

Developmental Science

|December 28, 2024

Summary

Gender differences in spatial skills like mental rotation impact math performance, with fluid reasoning partially mediating this link. These gender disparities in spatial skills may affect how they relate to mathematics achievement.

Keywords:

fluid reasoning gender mathematics mental rotation perspective‐taking spatial reasoning

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Educational Psychology

Background:

Gender differences in spatial skills, particularly mental rotation and perspective-taking, are well-documented and may influence mathematics success.
Cognitive factors like fluid reasoning may mediate the relationship between spatial abilities and mathematical performance.
Understanding these complex interactions is crucial for educational interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the mediating role of fluid reasoning in the relationship between spatial skills (mental rotation, perspective-taking) and mathematics performance.
To examine the moderating effects of gender and age on these pathways.
To explore potential gender-specific differences in how spatial skills relate to mathematics.

Main Methods:

Longitudinal study with 320 participants aged 8-12 years.
Assessment of mental rotation, perspective-taking, fluid reasoning, and mathematics performance.
Regression and moderated mediation analyses to examine direct, indirect, and moderated effects.

Main Results:

Both mental rotation and perspective-taking predicted mathematics performance.
Fluid reasoning partially mediated the relationship between spatial skills and mathematics.
Gender moderated the mental rotation-mathematics pathway, with a direct effect observed only in males.
Age did not moderate any of the observed relationships.

Conclusions:

Gender differences in spatial skills, specifically mental rotation, extend to their predictive relationship with mathematics performance.
Mental rotation may be a significant predictor of mathematics success for boys, but not for girls.
Extrinsic spatial skills like perspective-taking present alternative pathways for understanding the spatial reasoning-mathematics link, potentially offering more equitable connections.