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Updated: Sep 14, 2025
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The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
Published on: February 19, 2018
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From spatial construction to mathematics: Exploring the mediating role of visuospatial working memory
Yuxin Zhang1, Rebecca Bull1, Emma C Burns1
1Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University.
Developmental Psychology
|July 21, 2025
Summary
Early spatial construction skills at ages 5 and 7 predict long-term mathematics reasoning abilities in adolescents. These foundational spatial abilities are crucial for developing advanced mathematical skills throughout development.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Educational Psychology
- Developmental Neuroscience
Background:
- Early childhood spatial skills are increasingly recognized as critical precursors to later academic success.
- Longitudinal studies are essential for understanding the developmental trajectories of cognitive abilities.
- The relationship between spatial skills and mathematical reasoning requires further elucidation across extended developmental periods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal association between early spatial skills (construction and working memory) and mathematics reasoning abilities in adolescence.
- To examine the predictive power of early spatial construction skills on mathematics achievement and reasoning over a 12-year period.
- To determine the mediating role of visuospatial working memory in the relationship between early spatial skills and later mathematics reasoning.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a large-scale longitudinal cohort (N = 16,338).
- Employed path analysis to model the direct and indirect effects of spatial skills assessed at ages 5, 7, and 11 on mathematics reasoning at age 17.
- Controlled for covariates including sex, socioeconomic status, vocabulary, and nonverbal reasoning ability.
Main Results:
- Spatial construction at age 5 significantly predicted mathematics achievement at age 7.
- Early spatial construction skills (ages 5 and 7) showed direct associations with mathematics reasoning at age 17.
- Visuospatial working memory at age 11 partially mediated the link between early spatial construction and adolescent mathematics reasoning, with direct effects remaining robust.
Conclusions:
- Early spatial construction skills are strong, direct predictors of long-term mathematics reasoning development.
- Interventions targeting early spatial skills may enhance subsequent mathematical achievement and reasoning abilities.
- The findings underscore the enduring importance of foundational spatial abilities for mathematical development from childhood through adolescence.
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