Boys and girls show comparable spatial language use at 24 and 48 months during structured DUPLO play¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2–r3 · q3 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? At 24 months, similar proportions of boys (65.7%) and girls (62.2%) used any spatial language during block play. → Farran 2025 q3 i1 At 48 months, boys and girls did not differ in spatial language quantity or quality. → Farran 2025 (2)

Evidence¶

Farran 2025¶

Farran, E. K., Fink, E., Hughes, C., Gilligan-Lee, K. A., & The NewFAMS team. (2025). Limited sex differences in spatial language in parent-child dyads. Learning and Instruction, 95, 102006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2024.102006

q3 · i? · associational · r3

Observational coding of the first 3 minutes of parent-child DUPLO play at home visits, N = 187 families (105 boys, 82 girls). A chi-squared test on binary spatial language use showed "χ2(1, N = 187) = 0.248, p = .618", indicating no sex difference.

"The similarity of boys' and girls' use of spatial language at 24 months was confirmed statistically via a chi-squared test, in which spatial language use was coded as a binary (yes/no) variable χ2(1, N = 187) = 0.248, p = .618."

Farran 2025 (2)¶

Farran, E. K., Fink, E., Hughes, C., Gilligan-Lee, K. A., & The NewFAMS team. (2025). Limited sex differences in spatial language in parent-child dyads. Learning and Instruction, 95, 102006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2024.102006

q3 · i1 · associational · r2

ANOVA on 48-month DUPLO play data (N = 115, collapsed across mother and father interactions) found no sex effect on quantity (F < 1) or quality (F(1, 113) = 1.577, p = .212, "ηp2 = .014"). Means were 27.39 vs 28.33 words (quantity) and 11.03 vs 12.53 words (quality).

"This showed no effect of sex for spatial language quantity (Males, mean: 27.39 words, SD: 12.69 words; Females, mean: 28.33 words, SD: 10.59 words; F <x 1) or spatial language quality (Males, mean: 11.03 words, SD: 6.38 words; Females, mean: 12.53 words, SD: 6.28 words, F (1, 113) = 1.577, p = .212, ηp2 = .014)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Parent spatial language is concurrently associated with child spatial language at 48 months, explaining substantial variance beyond controls — related
• Mothers and fathers show no difference in spatial language use with their children, and children produce similar spatial language with each parent — related
• Parents use a greater variety of spatial words (higher spatial language quality) with daughters than sons, regardless of SES or talkativeness — related
• Tentative longitudinal interaction: mother spatial language quantity at 24 months relates negatively to boys' but positively to girls' later spatial language quality — related
• Parents used more spatial language at 24 months than at 48 months, an effect attributable to differences in overall talkativeness — related
• The authors interpret higher spatial language quality with daughters as possibly reflecting a perceived need to provide conceptual support — related