Gender Differences In Children's Spatial Abilities And Their Biological And Social Influence Factors

Gender difference researches of children's spatial ability is of important value and significance to early education.Newcombe & Shipley(2015)adopted a new spatial thinking model,the researchers divided the spatial ability into two dimensions of four factors,namely Intrinsic-Extrinsic dimension and Dynamic-Static dimension.Two dimensions form four factors: Intrinsic-Static,Intrinsic-Dynamic,Extrinsic-Static,Extrinsic-Dynamic.Based on a new theoretical model for the division of spatial ability proposed by Newcombe & Shipley(2015),the present study firstly attempted to examine this theoretical framework rationality in Chinese preschool children;Secondly,to explore whether gender difference were existed in this theoretical framework,we tested gender differences in four factors;Thirdly,what biological and social factors caused these gender differences still controversial.We expected:(1)gender difference exists in the spatial ability of children aged 4-5 years;(2)gender differences in spatial ability are affected by various factors such as biological and family social environment.The present study attempted to use 8 spatial type tasks to investigate gender differences in spatial ability of Chinese preschool children aged 4-5 years old,use Saliva collection method to measure testosterone.The 2D:4D ratio of left and right fingers was measured.And the present study use Spatial activity experience scale and Children's Gender Socialization Scale(CGSS)to explore social factors.Participants were randomly selected from two kindergartens(N = 129),which were assigned to two groups,4-year-old group(31 boys,35girls;average age of 4.03 years old,SD = 0.35 years old)and 5-year-old group(34 boys,29girls;average age of 5.43 years old,SD = 0.44 years old).8 spatial tasks were administered in random order and all tasks were completed in two,four tasks should be completed at a time.After each task,a rest for 1-2 minutes was provided to children.The results revealed that,through M-plus model fitting test,the theoretical model had agood empirical support in 4-and-5-year-old children's spatial abilities.It is shown that the model classification can be implemented in early childhood to help them fully develop their spatial abilities.However,gender differences in spatial abilities only existed in path task(Extrinsic-Dynamic)(F(1,127)= 6.63,p = 0.011),boys scored higher on the path task than girls.In other tasks(including mental rotation task),no significant gender differences were found in spatial abilities.The discovery was not in accord with our hypothesis,but could also be explained by the fact that male dominance emerges only when both the dynamic and external dimensions are present.In terms of family factors,parents' opinions on boys' toys played a fully mediating role in gender's influence on path task,which showed that boys' toy type was beneficial to the development of spatial abilities.However,we found no biological influence on gender differences.In conclusion,our research showed that the theoretical model by Newcombe & Shipley(2015)could be a very comprehensive division of children's various types of spatial ability.The theoretical significance has been empirically tested and it is reasonable and effective to use this model to test children's spatial ability.Above all,boys' spatial abilities aged 4-5 years old was only superior to girls' in path task,suggested the path task was the embodiment of boy's spatial dominance.Boy relies on play boy-type toy to develop their spatial ability over a long period of training.