Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Cognition. 2022 Aug;225:105165. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105165. Epub 2022 May 18.
Spatial ability is a strong and stable predictor of mathematical performance. However, of the three key components of spatial ability, spatial perception and spatial visualization have received less attention than mental rotation in relation to specific mathematical competencies of young children. Even less is known about the role of spatial anxiety in this relationship. This study examined the longitudinal relations of spatial perception and spatial visualization to three number skills (i.e., number line estimation, subitizing, and word problem-solving) among 190 preschool children, and whether these relations varied as a function of spatial anxiety. The results showed that children's spatial perception and spatial visualization skills, measured in the third preschool year (Time 1 [T1]), were positively associated with their word problem-solving six months later (Time 2 [T2]). Children's T1 spatial perception was also positively associated with their T2 subitizing and number line skills. In addition, T1 spatial anxiety moderated the relation between T1 spatial perception and T2 subitizing: the relation between the two was stronger for children with low levels of spatial anxiety than it was for those with moderate or high levels. The findings offer valuable insights into how spatial cognition and affect jointly relate to children's early number skills.
空间能力是预测数学表现的一个强有力且稳定的因素。然而，在空间能力的三个关键组成部分中，与儿童特定数学能力相关的空间感知和空间可视化，比心理旋转受到的关注更少。关于空间焦虑在这种关系中的作用，人们知之甚少。本研究考察了空间感知和空间可视化与 190 名学龄前儿童的三项数学技能（即数字线估计、数量估计和应用题解决）之间的纵向关系，以及这些关系是否因空间焦虑而异。结果表明，儿童在幼儿园第三年（T1）的空间感知和空间可视化技能，与六个月后的应用题解决能力（T2）呈正相关。儿童的 T1 空间感知也与他们的 T2 数量估计和数字线技能呈正相关。此外，T1 空间焦虑调节了 T1 空间感知和 T2 数量估计之间的关系：对于低空间焦虑水平的儿童，两者之间的关系比中等或高空间焦虑水平的儿童更强。研究结果为理解空间认知和情感如何共同影响儿童早期的数学技能提供了有价值的见解。
