The relation between spatial skill and early number knowledge: The role of the linear number line
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Spatial skill is highly related to success in math and science (e.g., Casey, Nuttall, Pezaris, & Benbow, 1995). However, little work has investigated the cognitive pathways by which the relation between spatial skill and math achievement emerges. We hypothesized that spatial skill plays a crucial role in the development of numerical reasoning by helping children to create a spatially meaningful, powerful numerical representation-the linear number line. In turn, a strong linear number representation improves other aspects of numerical knowledge such as arithmetic estimation. We tested this hypothesis using 2 longitudinal data sets. First, we found that children's spatial skill (i.e., mental transformation ability) at the beginning of 1st and 2nd grades predicted improvement in linear number line knowledge over the course of the school year. Second, we found that children's spatial skill at age 5 years predicted their performance on an approximate symbolic calculation task at age 8 and that this relation was mediated by children's linear number line knowledge at age 6. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that spatial skill can improve children's development of numerical knowledge by helping them to acquire a linear spatial representation of numbers.
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- Authors
- Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., Beilock, S. L., & Levine, S. C.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- Venue
- Developmental Psychology
- Published
- 2012-09
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1229-1241
- ISSN
- 0012-1649 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0599
- PMC
- PMC10811729
- OpenAlex
- W2115889461
- Cited by
- 554
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 24 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 60 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 77 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 53 · 2017: 54 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 18.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2012-05-07)
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Developmental Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01HD040605)
- National Science Foundation (SBE 0541957, CAREER DRL-0746970)
- National Center for Education Research (R305C050076)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Social Sciences › Education › Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques
- Keywords
- number line, numerical development, approximate number system, mental transformation, number representation, children's mathematics learning, mediation
- MeSH terms
- Achievement, Child, Child Development, Cognition, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mathematics, Motor Skills, Neuropsychological Tests, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Photic Stimulation, Regression Analysis, Space Perception, Vocabulary, Knowledge
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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
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