A test was designed to measure whether or not the child's conceptualization of space would demand that two topological properties of figures (connectedness, and openness and closedness) remain invariant when the figures were subjected to transformations. Ninety children, 30 from each of ages four, six, and eight, were tested. Six items were given…

The author takes exception to Piaget and Inhelder's conclusion that a child's first conceptualization of space is topological. (JP)

Research designed to determine whether the phenomena observed by Piaget were task specific was performed. The results did not confirm Piaget's notion that topological concepts develop prior to the concepts of Euclidean geometry. (SD)

The objective of the investigation was to develop and test procedures for training children in coordination of projective space. (Projective concepts involve apparent distance, relative position, shape of figures, and other topological factors. A person with a command of projective space sees objects as a coordinated system of figures in space.) A…

A review of work related to the topological primacy thesis and a critique of some aspects of it are presented. On the basis of the psychological research, it is concluded that topological concepts ought to be taught. (MP)

The investigation reported pursued the possibility of cross-cultural differences between American and Swiss children in terms of how they perceive and conceptualize spatial figures. There was statistical evidence that the preferences of American and Swiss children were different when compared as a whole or by sex and test version. (MK)

The growth of spatial awareness and representation was studied in children between ages five and nine. A group of thirteen tasks was administered to subjects three times with periods of approximately six months among sessions. The tasks were selected to measure understanding of projective spatial properties (straight line trajectories,…

Several critical questions concerning the topological primacy thesis were raised in an extensive literature survey (SE 531 428). Three points related to this criticism are discussed and reinforced, including a reexamination of Laurendeau and Pinard's data (showing that they do not support the hypothesis of topological primacy in children's…