The positive relationship between spatial ability and mathematical skills is a classical result in developmental and cognitive psychology. Given this correlational relationship, researchers have tried to establish whether spatial training can increase mathematical ability. Such research has provided mixed results. In this study, we analysed the effects of two types of spatial training and handedness on primary school children’s arithmetical ability. The participants were pre-tested on a test of arithmetic and assigned to one of three groups: (a) one hour of mental rotation and translation training, (b) one hour of mental translation training only, or (c) a no-contact group. The results showed no significant difference between training groups and a significant interaction between training group and category of handedness. Interestingly, only extremely right-handed children in the mental rotation and translation group seemed to benefit from the training. These outcomes suggest that any spatial training needs to include mental rotation activities to be effective, and that the relationship between spatial training and achievement mathematics appears to be moderated by handedness.

The relationship between handedness and mathematical ability is still highly controversial. While some researchers have claimed that left-handers are gifted in mathematics and strong right-handers perform the worst in mathematical tasks, others have more recently proposed that mixed-handers are the most disadvantaged group. However, the studies in the field differ with regard to the ages and the gender of the participants, and the type of mathematical ability assessed. To disentangle these discrepancies, we conducted five studies in several Italian schools (total participants: N = 2,314), involving students of different ages (six to seventeen) and a range of mathematical tasks (e.g., arithmetic and reasoning). The results show that (a) linear and quadratic functions are insufficient for capturing the link between handedness and mathematical ability; (b) the percentage of variance in mathematics scores explained by handedness was larger than in previous studies (between 3 and 10% vs. 1%), and (c) the effect of handedness on mathematical ability depended on age, type of mathematical tasks, and gender. In accordance with previous research, handedness does represent a correlate of achievement in mathematics, but the shape of this relationship is more complicated than has been argued so far.

The relationship between handedness and mathematical abilities is controversial. Whilst some researchers have claimed that left-handers are gifted in mathematics and strong right-handers perform the worst in mathematical tasks, it has been more recently proposed that mixed-handers are actually the most disadvantaged group. To disentangle these discrepancies, we conducted five experiments in several Italian schools (total participants: N = 2,308) involving students of different ages (6 to 17 years) and a range of mathematical tasks. The results showed that (a) the percentage of variance in mathematics scores explained by handedness was moderate (about 5%) but statistically significant, and (b) the shape of the relationship between handedness and mathematical ability depended on age, task, and gender. We concluded that the different outcomes reported in the literature probably reflected the dissimilarities between the studies about the above variables. Therefore, a more comprehensive model is needed, which explains how these variables interact.