The relationship between mobility and spatial reasoning in children across cultures

在空间认知和空间导航经验方面存在性别差异，这些差异在广泛的社会中都存在。在户外，男性往往比女性走得更远，对自己的导航能力更有信心，而且在许多空间任务上，男性也比女性表现得更好。对这些影响的一种解释是，有机会在更大的区域中导航可能会增强空间技能和信心。这些行为差异出现在儿童中期，并有可能影响一生的空间学习。本研究将调查三个觅食社会中儿童的这些关系，探讨儿童的流动性如何影响空间学习和自信，以及为什么这些在女孩和男孩之间经常不同。这些社会中的儿童比工业化社会中的儿童更多地接触自然环境，并有更大的自由进行独立的空间探索，这可能提供有利于良好空间和导航能力的学习环境。因此，跨文化研究这个问题提供了一个更直接地研究空间探索和导航对空间认知发展的影响的机会。该研究的结果将对优化跨文化的空间推理具有重要的见解。该研究将包括7至12岁的儿童，并将在三个完全或部分依赖觅食为生的种群中进行，因此有很大的机会在大的自然空间中进行研究：Hadza（坦桑尼亚），Twe（纳米比亚）和Tsimane（玻利维亚）。儿童的自然活动能力（来自GPS跟踪和访谈）、空间表现（空间可视化和导航）和空间冒险行为的数据将被用来回答三个问题：(1)儿童时期更大的活动能力是否与空间自信和表现的增强有关？(2)流动性的性别差异是否源于风险偏好的性别差异？(3)环境因素如何影响移动性和寻路性？这三个社会生活的栖息地在资源斑块和地标可见性方面各不相同；基于他们早期对成年人的研究，研究人员期望更大的资源斑块可以增加男性的机动性，更大的地标可见性可以增强对男性典型寻路策略的依赖。该项目将为培养学生的跨文化研究方法和跨学科合作提供宝贵的机会。

There are gender differences in both spatial cognition and experiences in navigating space, and these differences are found across a wide range of societies. Out of doors, males tend to range farther than females and are more confident in their navigational abilities, and males also outperform females on many spatial tasks. One explanation for these effects is that having the opportunity to navigate through larger areas may enhance both spatial skills and confidence. These behavioral differences appear in middle childhood, and have the potential to shape spatial learning throughout life. This study will investigate these relationships among children in three foraging societies, to explore how children's mobility affects spatial learning and confidence, and why these often differ between girls and boys. Children in these societies have greater exposure to the natural environment than children in industrialized societies, and are given greater latitude for independent spatial exploration, which are likely to provide a learning environment conducive to good spatial and navigational ability. As a result, studying this question cross-culturally provides an opportunity to more directly examine the impact of spatial exploration and navigation on the development of spatial cognition. The outcomes of the research will have important insights for optimizing spatial reasoning across cultures.The study will include children 7 to 12 years old, and will take place in three populations that depend in whole or part on foraging for sustenance and therefore permit significant opportunities for ranging across large natural spaces: the Hadza (Tanzania), the Twe (Namibia), and the Tsimane (Bolivia). Data on natural mobility (from GPS tracking and interview), spatial performance (spatial visualization and navigation), and spatial risk-taking will be used to answer three questions: (1) Is greater mobility in childhood associated with enhanced spatial confidence and performance? (2) Do gender differences in mobility stem from gender differences in risk preference? (3) How are mobility and wayfinding shaped by environmental factors? The three societies live in habitats that vary in both resource patchiness and in landmark visibility; based on their earlier work with adults, the investigators expect greater resource patchiness to increase male mobility, and greater landmark visibility to enhance reliance on male-typical wayfinding strategies. The project will provide valuable opportunities for training students in cross-cultural research approaches and in inter-disciplinary collaboration.