Mental rotation (MR), a hallmark of spatial intelligence, predicts later academic success (Wai et al., 2009). Although cross-sectional studies have explored MR in infancy and preschool age, its developmental trajectory and the influence of self-produced locomotion remain underexplored.
In this longitudinal study, we tested 24 children at 9-months (T1) and 4–6 years (T2). At T1, crawling and non-crawling infants were assessed for MR using a habituation paradigm with Shepard-Metzler objects (Gerhard et al., 2021). At T2, children participated in an age-adjusted MR task consisting of 10 trials with a rotating Shepard-Metzler object video (0°–119°) on the left and paired static images mirrored to each other (120°–359°) on the right. The task was to identify the static image that resembles the object on the left. The first 5 trials included feedback, while the rest were without feedback. Motor skills were assessed using the LoMo (3-6) (Jaščenoka & Petermann, 2018).
Results revealed a positive correlation between MR performance at T1 and T2 (rs(20) = .420, p < .05). The correlation was stronger for without feedback trials (rs(21) = .649, p < .001), suggesting a stable developmental trajectory. LoMo-Scores correlated positively with MR performance at T2, (rs(21) = .429, p = .046). Crawling status predicted without feedback accuracy at T2, (rs(21) = .410, p = .05), indicating that self-produced locomotion contributes to MR development into preschool age. These findings have implications for education, where improved MR can lead to stronger STEM performance and motor skills could be driving factors.