Spatial language and mental transformation in preschoolers: Does relational reasoning matter?

Spatial Thinking in Term and Preterm-Born Preschoolers: Relations to Parent–Child Speech and Gesture

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.651678 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Sam Clingan-Siverly ◽

Paige M. Nelson ◽

Tilbe Göksun ◽

Ö. Ece Demir-Lira

Keyword(s):

Spatial Information ◽

Block Design ◽

Spatial Language ◽

Formal Schooling ◽

Spatial Skills ◽

Life Outcomes ◽

Mental Transformation ◽

Spatial Performance ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Preterm Born

Spatial skills predict important life outcomes, such as mathematical achievement or entrance into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Children significantly vary in their spatial performance even before they enter formal schooling. One correlate of children's spatial performance is the spatial language they produce and hear from others, such as their parents. Because the emphasis has been on spatial language, less is known about the role of hand gestures in children's spatial development. Some children are more likely to fall behind in their spatial skills than others. Children born premature (gestational age <37 weeks) constitute such a risk group. Here, we compared performance of term and preterm-born children on two non-verbal spatial tasks—mental transformation and block design. We also examined relations of children's performance on these tasks to parental spatial language and gesture input and their own production of spatial language and gesture during an independent puzzle play interaction. We found that while term and preterm-born children (n = 40) as a group did not differ in the mental transformation or block design performance, children varied widely in their performance within each group. The variability in mental transformation scores was predicted by both a subset of spatial words (what aspects of spatial information) and all spatial gestures children produced. Children's spatial language and gesture were in turn related to their parents' spatial language and gesture. Parental spatial language and gesture had an indirect relation on children's mental transformation, but not block design, scores via children's spatial language, and gesture use. Overall, results highlight the unique contributions of speech and gesture in communicating spatial information and predicting children's spatial performance.

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Dual systems for all: Higher-order, role-based relational reasoning as a uniquely derived feature of human cognition

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x19000451 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel J. Povinelli ◽

Gabrielle C. Glorioso ◽

Shannon L. Kuznar ◽

Mateja Pavlic

Keyword(s):

Temporal Reasoning ◽

Higher Order ◽

Important Case ◽

Human Cognition ◽

Relational Reasoning ◽

Dual Systems ◽

First Order ◽

Reasoning System ◽

Role Based

Abstract Hoerl and McCormack demonstrate that although animals possess a sophisticated temporal updating system, there is no evidence that they also possess a temporal reasoning system. This important case study is directly related to the broader claim that although animals are manifestly capable of first-order (perceptually-based) relational reasoning, they lack the capacity for higher-order, role-based relational reasoning. We argue this distinction applies to all domains of cognition.

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The Latin Square Task as a Measure of Relational Reasoning

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000520 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 296-302 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Luke J. Hearne ◽

Damian P. Birney ◽

Luca Cocchi ◽

Jason B. Mattingley

Keyword(s):

Brain Imaging ◽

Response Times ◽

Latin Square ◽

Error Rates ◽

Functional Brain Imaging ◽

Inspection Time ◽

Relational Reasoning ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

The Stability ◽

Test Retest Reliability

Abstract. The Latin Square Task (LST) is a relational reasoning paradigm developed by Birney, Halford, and Andrews (2006) . Previous work has shown that the LST elicits typical reasoning complexity effects, such that increases in complexity are associated with decrements in task accuracy and increases in response times. Here we modified the LST for use in functional brain imaging experiments, in which presentation durations must be strictly controlled, and assessed its validity and reliability. Modifications included presenting the components within each trial serially, such that the reasoning and response periods were separated. In addition, the inspection time for each LST problem was constrained to five seconds. We replicated previous findings of higher error rates and slower response times with increasing relational complexity and observed relatively large effect sizes (η2p > 0.70, r > .50). Moreover, measures of internal consistency and test-retest reliability confirmed the stability of the LST within and across separate testing sessions. Interestingly, we found that limiting the inspection time for individual problems in the LST had little effect on accuracy relative to the unconstrained times used in previous work, a finding that is important for future brain imaging experiments aimed at investigating the neural correlates of relational reasoning.

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