Abstract

Mental rotation in adults can be supported by spatial activities and shows sex differences in favor of males. Yet, whether these results apply to young children and whether possible early sex differences in mental rotation might be alleviated through spatial play remains unclear. Thus, we investigated whether play with different levels of guidance (high guidance vs. medium guidance vs. low guidance) would affect girls' and boys' mental rotation in a sample of 183 German 5- and 6-year-olds. Any play form fostered children's mental rotation. However, girls profited less from high guidance than boys. Play can foster mental rotation, but different levels of guidance seem to have differential effects on girls and boys.

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