Background: There is a complex pattern of sex differences in spatial abilities, yet there is limited knowledge of sex differences in children's exposure to, and children's use of, spatial language. The aim of this study was to directly compare mother-child and father-child interactions to investigate differences by child and parent sex in spatial language.Methods: The first 3-min of mother-child and father-child DUPLO® play sessions were coded for spatial language when the child was 24 months (N = 187 families; 105:82 boys:girls) and two years later at 48 months (N = 115 families; 66:49 boys:girls). Results: There were no sex differences in children's or parents' spatial language use at 24 months or 48 months. Regardless of socioeconomic status or parent talkativeness, parents showed more variety of spatial language (quality) with their daughters than their sons, but a similar quantity of spatial language with their daughters and sons. Associational analyses revealed a concurrent association between parent and child spatial language use at 48 months, but parent spatial language at 24 months did not predict child spatial language 2 years later. No direct sex effects were observed for cross-sectional or longitudinal associational analyses. Conclusions: Higher spatial language quality with daughters could reflect a higher (perceived) need to provide conceptual support to daughters than sons. Beyond this, we found limited evidence of sex effects. Our findings represent an important contribution, demonstrating comparable levels of exposure to spatial language to sons and daughters, and comparable elicitation of spatial language from young boys and girls.Spatial abilities pertain to the location, dimension and properties of objects and their relations to each other and are central to tasks of everyday living. For example, we use spatial abilities to put shoes on the right feet, give directions, visualise how to pack a box, and imagine environments from different viewpoints. Spatial abilities have consistently been shown to be associated with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) achievement(Wai et al., 2009)and so also make key societal and economic contributions.Spatial language pertains to the language of spatial concepts and includes "what" words describing objects and their properties ("triangle", "corner", "pointy") and "where" words which reflect spatial location ("above", "next to", "near"). Spatial language helps us to organise our spatial thinking(Casasola et al., 2020), and thus is strongly associated with spatial abilities (e.g.,Gilligan-Lee et al., 2021;Pruden et al., 2011;Turan et al., 2021;also see Pyers et al., 2010). Gentner and Goldin-Meadow (2003) propose that spatial language provides a toolkit to support spatial representations (also seeNewcombe, 2018). That is, spatial language helps to refine children's concepts (e.g., spatial categories; Farran & Atkinson, 2016), thus supporting spatial strategies, and strengthening their spatial representations. Spatial language also directly impacts problem solving. It prompts children to encode spatial distinctions(Feist & Genther, 2007)and focuses attention on relevant spatial dimensions of the problem(Farran & O'Leary, 2016).

Emily K. Farran

Elian Fink

Claire Hughes

Katie A. Gilligan-Lee

Sarah Foley

Gabrielle McHarg

Rory Devine

Caoimhe Dempsey

Wendy Browne

Anja Lindberg

Learning and Instruction

As an international, multi-disciplinary, peer-refereed journal, Learning and Instruction provides a platform for the publication of the most advanced scientific research in the areas of learning, development, instruction and teaching. The journal welcomes original empirical investigations. The papers may represent a variety of theoretical perspectives and different methodological approaches. They may refer to any age level, from infants to adults and to a diversity of learning and instructional settings, from laboratory experiments to field studies. The major criteria in the review and the selection process concern the significance of the contribution to the area of learning and instruction, and the rigor of the study.

Learning and Instruction is an international, multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed journal that provides a platform for publishing the latest scientific research in the fields of learning, development, instruction, and teaching. The journal welcomes original empirical investigations and accepts a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. The studies may involve participants of all ages, from infants to adults, and encompass a diverse range of learning and instructional settings, from laboratory experiments to field studies. The primary criteria for review and selection focus on the significance of the contribution to the field of learning and instruction and the rigor of the study.

《Learning and Instruction》是一本国际性、多学科的同行评审期刊，旨在为学习、发展、教学和教育领域的最新科学研究提供发表平台。期刊欢迎原创的实证研究，接受多种理论视角和不同的方法论。研究对象可以涵盖从婴儿到成人的各个年龄段，以及从实验室实验到实地研究的多样学习和教学环境。审稿和选择过程的主要标准是研究对学习和教学领域的贡献的重要性，以及研究的严谨性。

Category	Quartile
教育学	1
教育学, 教育学和教育研究	1
教育学, 心理学教育	1

Limited sex differences in spatial language in parent-child dyads

ivySCI AI Smartly Parses PDF, Answers Researchers' Questions, and Helps You Understand Papers in Seconds

Journal Info

Category	Quartile
PSYCHOLOGY, EDUCATIONAL	1