Two experiments used the sentence-picture verification paradigm to study encoding and comparison processes with spatial information. Subjects decided whether a spatial description of a geometric figure matched a second figure. Three critical results demonstrated that task-specific variables could be the primary determinants of how subjects verify…

Examines spatial concepts required by young children for the understanding and manipulation of turn commands in Logo, and reviews the literature on children's Logo learning and the psychological-cognitive development of spatial concepts. Geometric concepts, alternative frames of reference, and the use of Turtle graphics are also discussed. (39…

The effect of the location, in picture or text, of spatial, contextual, and operational information on comprehension was evaluated. Results showed that textual presentation of spatial information produced fewer errors, pictorial presentation reduced performance times, and pictorial presentation of contextual information reduced assembly times and…

Experiments to probe the nature of one mode of thinking, imagined spatial operations, have been devised. Results confirm that the mind can model physical processes, subjecting them to the geometric constraints that hold in the external world. The experimental work and implications are discussed in detail. (MNS)

Two experiments used fifth grade students to test the hypothesis that conjointly presented verbal/spatial information facilitates retrieval from either stimulus format. Results support the notion of conjoint retention which assumes that related verbal/spatial arrays are stored in a fashion which allows separate use of both formats during…

This study reports on cultural and gender differences in the spatial abilities of children based on the Water Level Task. The Piagetian theory of age-related developmental differences in performance on the Water Level Task was explored with Chinese and Malay children living in Singapore. Results indicate that children in this study did not perform…

A report on some pilot research which explores ways of investigating the mathematics used in two professional crafts: upholstery and gardening. The paper considers observations and conversations in the light of J. Lave and E. Wenger's theory of situated cognition. It describes a situation in which cognition had to be transferred because of a…

The performance of 114 New Zealand children of European and Polynesian descent on spatial relations tasks was examined, following their interaction with another child of either the same or different cognitive level. Nonconservers were found to benefit from interaction relative to no interaction more than were partial conservers. (AOS)

Infants 8.5 and 9.5 months of age were tested for ability to determine the location of an object hidden in one of two covered containers before their left-right positions were reversed. Only the older infants provided with different colored covers to their containers were able to do this task. (Author/DB)

Seven-year-olds compared successively presented oblique lines which varied as to their position within a square display and their relation to the diagonal axis of the display. Children apparently encoded lines in terms of position and axis features. They used a categorical spatial representational system to compare oblique lines. (Author/RD)

When the mathematics and extended range vocabulary subtests on the Relief Format Assessment Test were factor analyzed, altitude estimation (predicted by mathematics aptitude) and terrain analysis (predicted by vocabulary skills) were found to underly map-reading performance. Solutions were found to be dependent on verbal-analytic ability more than…

This experiment tested the ability of people to recall the locations of buildings in a familiar campus setting. Ten graduate students represented the relative locations of buildings by pairwise distance judgments and by direct mapping of locations on a Tektronix cathode ray terminal. Both methods led to accurate judgments. (Author/CTM)

This experiment investigated preferences for the location of facilities in an ideal town. Ten graduate students represented the relative locations of facilities (home, school, factory) by two methods: (1) pairwise ideal distances on a 100-point scale and (2) direct planning of locations on a Tektronix cathode ray screen. (Author/CTM)

Preschoolers, elementary school children, and adults reconstructed configurations of objects depicted on maps of empty rooms. Found that with symmetric configurations, most subjects preserved the configuration of objects, but preschoolers placed objects far from correct locations; preschoolers performed worse with asymmetric than symmetric…

Two characteristics that determine problem difficulty--the nature of the move search space and its interaction with other aspects of the task--were investigated in experiments in which 26, 69, 42, and 42 community college students attempted to solve the Chinese Ring Puzzle. The origins and implications of difficulty are discussed. (SLD)