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Spatial scaling is an integral aspect of many spatial tasks that involve symbol-to-referent correspondences (e.g., map reading, drawing). In this study, we asked 3-6-year-olds and adults to locate objects in a two-dimensional spatial layout using information from a second spatial representation (map). We examined how scaling factor and reference features, such as the shape of the layout or the presence of landmarks, affect performance. Results showed that spatial scaling on this simple task undergoes considerable development, especially between 3 and 5 years of age. Furthermore, the youngest children showed large individual variability and profited from landmark information. Accuracy differed between scaled and un-scaled items, but not between items using different scaling factors (1:2 vs. 1:4), suggesting that participants encoded relative rather than absolute distances. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)

The present study investigated the role of spatial scaling and proportional-reasoning skills in children’s number-line estimations. Proportional strategies in number-line estimations might suggest that correlations between number-line knowledge and scaling are driven by proportional thinking. However, analyses of data on spatial scaling, proportional reasoning, counting skills, and number-line knowledge from 5- to 7-year-old children ( N  = 65) showed significant correlations between spatial-scaling performance and number-line knowledge, even after age, counting skills, common method variance, and proportional reasoning were accounted for. Thus, spatial scaling is related to variance in number-line estimations due to mechanisms beyond proportional reasoning. The ability to mentally transform magnitudes may be the additional common underlying process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]