Sex Differences in Parental Spatial Language During Block Play: Higher Quantity for Boys Explained by Length of Play

• In Event: Parental Support of Children’s Early Mathematics Learning

Abstract

Playing with blocks is related to children’s later spatial and mathematical reasoning skills (Casey et al., 2012; Wolfgang et al., 2003). Block play may be helpful for developing spatial skills because it provides opportunities for thinking about spatial relationships and hearing talk about spatial concepts. Evidence suggests that the amount of spatial language children hear during spatial activities, including block play, is related to greater mental rotation ability (Casasola et al., 2020). Moreover, higher amounts of parents’ spatial concept support (which includes spatial words, explanations, and prompts) during block play with 3-year-olds predicts children’s math ability one year later (Lombardi et al., 2017).

Although boys show a preference for block play over girls, research is mixed as to whether there are sex differences in the quality of the block play (Kersh et al., 2008). Quantitative differences are believed to contribute to the male advantage in some spatial skills (Baennigner & Newcombe, 1989; Levine et al., 2016), and it is also possible that qualitative differences do as well. One study has shown that parents of boys use more spatial words than parents of girls during naturalistic interactions (Pruden & Levine, 2017). Moreover, parents use more spatial language during block play than non-spatial activities (Ferrara et al., 2011). These findings raise the possibility that parents may use more spatial language with boys than girls during block play. Alternatively, boys may hear more spatial language during block play than girls simply because they play with blocks more often and/or for longer periods of time.

We examine this question by utilizing data from a longitudinal language development study. 64 parent-child dyads (31 girls) were recorded during naturalistic interactions for 90 minutes every 4 months; we focus on visits between child ages 26 to 58-months. Parent’s speech to children was transcribed and each utterance coded for spatial content. An utterance was considered spatial if it contained at least one word that referred to the location, orientation, size, shape, and spatial properties of spaces and objects (e.g. beside, turn, big, square, curved).

We identified 41 children (16 girls) who spontaneously played with blocks at least once for a total of 129 individual episodes. In terms of quantity, boys played with blocks more χ^2 (2)= 4.32, p< 0.05 and had longer block play episodes t(39) = -2.11, p<0.05 than girls.

In terms of quality, boys heard more spatial utterances than girls during block play episodes, t(39) = -2.37, p< 0.05, but this difference was no longer significant when total time spent engaging in block play was controlled, F1,38=1.9, p=0.1.

These findings indicate that boys do not hear more spatial utterances per minute than girls, but hear more spatial talk overall as they spend more time on block play. Our findings suggest that block play invites parents to engage in spatial language for both boys and girls, and that one way to close the gender gap in spatial skills such as mental rotation is to encourage parents to engage in block play with girls as well as boys.

Authors

• Madeleine Oswald, University of Chicago
  Presenting Author

• Lori Petersen, Purdue University Northwest
  Non-Presenting Author

• Susan Cohen Levine, University of Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author