Exploring the potential relations between a novel visual alphabet and preschoolers' spatial skills

The Pattern Alphabet (pABC) organizes 32 icons into four categories that illustrate natural growth and movement (Growth), Geometry, Symmetry, and shapes that enable the creation of new shapes (Building Blocks). We presented 4- to 5-year-olds with a pABC matching task, as well as tasks that measured their spatial and mathematical skills. Results from this exploratory research found that children successfully matched most pABC icons with colored photographs of objects in the world that contained embedded pABC icons, though performance varied by category. Children had difficulty with Symmetry icons but matched nearly all Geometric icons. After controlling for factors attributed to variability in children's spatial skills, performance on the pABC matching task significantly predicted spatial skills, with the Growth category standing out as the sole significant predictor. These results suggest that recognition of diverse shapes, like those in the pABC, may play a role in shaping early spatial thinking.