Spatial reasoning measured in infancy predicts how children do at math at four years of age, finds a new study published in Psychological Science. This is the earliest documented evidence provided for a relationship between spatial reasoning and math ability. The study shown that spatial reasoning beginning early in life, as young as six months of age, predicts both the continuity of this ability and mathematical development. The researchers controlled the longitudinal study for general cognitive abilities of the children, including measures such as vocabulary, working memory, short-term spatial memory and processing speed. The findings may help explain why some people embrace math while others feel they are bad at it and avoid it. Authors of the study say that spatial reasoning is a malleable skill that can be improved with training. One possibility is that more focus should be put on spatial reasoning in early math education. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-08/ehs-bsr081716.php
