Spatial skills, but not spatial anxiety, mediate the gender difference in number line estimation.

Abstract

Recently, there has been increasing evidence showing that males estimate whole numbers more accurately than females on the number line. However, relatively little is known about what factors contribute to this gender gap. The current study explored potential mediators of the gender difference in number line estimation, including spatial skills and spatial anxiety. In the Fall (time-point 1 [T1]), 490 children from kindergarten through fourth grade (274 girls) completed age-appropriate measures of number line estimation, spatial skills (including proportional reasoning, mental rotation, mental transformation, and visuospatial working memory), and spatial anxiety. About 5 month later in the Spring (time-point 2 [T2]), children completed the same measure of number line estimation again. Boys were more accurate on number line estimation, proportional reasoning, and mental rotation than girls, whereas girls showed higher levels of spatial anxiety. Critically, spatial skills (a latent variable constructed from proportional reasoning, mental rotation, mental transformation, and visuospatial working memory) at T1 mediated the gender difference in T2 number line estimation whereas spatial anxiety was not a significant mediator. These relationships held even after controlling for T1 number line estimation, reading achievement, and reading anxiety. Among the four spatial skills, proportional reasoning and mental rotation (but not mental transformation or visuospatial working memory) were mediators of the gender difference in T2 number line estimation. These findings constitute, to our knowledge, the first evidence regarding factors contributing to the gender difference in whole number line estimation.

Tracking informal fraction knowledge and its correlates across first grade.

“…The low correlation we observed may have been influenced by some children using nonproportional strategies on the proportional reasoning task, such as focusing on the amount of juice or water alone or focusing on the difference between the juice and water. However, overall performance on the spatial proportional reasoning task in our sample was similar to previous studies with U.S. children of this age (e.g., Tian et al, 2022). Future research is needed to replicate and explain this weak correlation.…”

Spatial–Numerical Magnitude Estimation Mediates Early Sex Differences in the Use of Advanced Arithmetic Strategies

“…Prior research documented sex differences in spatial-numerical magnitude knowledge among US children. More specifically, studies have found a male advantage in number line estimation (Hansen et al 2015;Hutchison et al 2019;Tian et al 2022). The current results demonstrate that this phenomenon generalizes to other cultural contexts-Russian boys produced more accurate number line estimates than girls, just like their US peers.…”

“…A number line estimation task is such a measure of spatial-numerical knowledge; it captures numerical magnitude understanding by mapping it onto spatial magnitude (i.e., distance). This task has consistently revealed sex differences whereby boys produce more accurate numerical estimates than girls (Gunderson et al 2012;Hansen et al 2015;Hutchison et al 2019;LeFevre et al 2010;Reinert et al 2017;Thompson and Opfer 2008;Tian et al 2022). In the present study, we consider sex differences in spatial-numerical knowledge, rather than in general spatial skills, in relation to arithmetic problem solving.…”

Tracing the origins of the STEM gender gap: The contribution of childhood spatial skills

“…A recent meta‐analysis showed that small male advantage in mental rotation emerged by 6 years of age, and the advantage increased with age through at least early adulthood (Lauer et al., 2019). Further, in the few specific math areas where a male advantage exists, including number line estimation and the Mathematics Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT‐M), spatial skills appear to contribute to such gender differences (Casey et al., 1997; Geary et al., 2020; Tian et al., 2022). Spatial skills also mediate the gender difference in science achievement among middle school students (Ganley et al., 2014).…”

“…Further, in the few specific math areas where a male advantage exists, including number line estimation and the Mathematics Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-M), spatial skills appear to contribute to such gender differences (Casey et al, 1997;Geary et al, 2020;Tian et al, 2022). Spatial skills also mediate the gender difference in science achievement among middle school students (Ganley et al, 2014).…”