Abad Carla, Odean Rosalie, Pruden Shannon M
STEM Transformation Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States.
School of Education, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States.
Front Psychol. 2018 Dec 17;9:2563. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02563. eCollection 2018.
The current study explores change in mental rotation skills throughout the pre-kindergarten year in a Hispanic population to better understand the development of early sex differences in mental rotation. Ninety-six Hispanic children ( = 4 years 8 months) completed a mental rotation task at the beginning and end of pre-kindergarten. Results suggest Hispanic boys and girls differed in gains on mental rotation ability, with boys improving significantly more than girls during pre-kindergarten on a mental rotation task. This study highlights the significance of studying mental rotation abilities in a Hispanic population of pre-kindergarten aged children and suggests the importance of examining sex differences in mental rotation over time, rather than at one time-point, to better understand when sex differences in spatial skills develop. We discuss various factors that potentially affect the growth of spatial skills including the role of early education, spatial experiences, and spatial language input.
本研究探讨了西班牙裔儿童在整个学前班阶段心理旋转技能的变化，以便更好地理解心理旋转中早期性别差异的发展。96名西班牙裔儿童（平均年龄 = 4岁8个月）在学前班开始和结束时完成了一项心理旋转任务。结果表明，西班牙裔男孩和女孩在心理旋转能力的提升方面存在差异，在学前班期间，男孩在心理旋转任务上的进步明显大于女孩。本研究强调了在西班牙裔学前班儿童群体中研究心理旋转能力的重要性，并表明随着时间推移而非在某一个时间点来研究心理旋转中的性别差异，对于更好地理解空间技能的性别差异何时出现具有重要意义。我们讨论了各种可能影响空间技能发展的因素，包括早期教育、空间体验和空间语言输入的作用。
