Do Not Only Count Your Chickens: Spatial Visualization is Important for Kindergarteners’ Maths Problem-solving, and Mental Rotation – for arithmetic

There is some evidence that arithmetic and maths reasoning are partly dissociated abilities, with somewhat different underlying mechanisms. However, research in the area is limited and focused mostly on schoolchildren and adults. Aim of the current study was to investigate differences in underlying mechanisms of these constructs. Three groups of preschool children: 1) Age: 60-65 months, N=152; 2) Age: 66-71 months, N=171; and 3) Age: 72-77 months, N=148; completed three spatial ability tests (2D mental rotation, paper folding and tangram puzzle), counting, arithmetic and maths reasoning tasks. Our data showed that maths reasoning was predicted by paper folding, and arithmetic was predicted by 2D mental rotation. Counting ability was a significant predictor for both tasks. Our data provided some evidence for dissociation of mechanisms that are involved in arithmetic and maths reasoning ability in preschool children. Further research is needed to provide in-depth understanding of these mechanisms at different ages.