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ERIC Number: EJ738973
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Jul
Pages: 19
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0010-0277
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
How Do Young Children Determine Location? Evidence from Disorientation Tasks
Lourenco, Stella F.; Huttenlocher, Janellen
Cognition, v100 n3 p511-529 Jul 2006
Previous studies show that following disorientation children use the geometry of an enclosed space to locate an object hidden in one of the corners [e.g. (Harmer, L., & Spelke, E. (1996). Modularity and development: A case of spatial reorientation. "Cognition, 61," 195-232)]. These studies have used a disorientation procedure that involves rotating the viewer (with eyes closed). Here, we examine 18- to 25-month-olds' spatial coding in two disorientation tasks--involving either "viewer" or "space" rotation. Importantly, the rotational movements in both tasks could not be visually tracked. Children were tested in either task (viewer- or space-movement) from either inside or outside a triangular (isosceles) space (with one unique and two equivalent corners). In the viewer-movement task, performance was above chance, regardless of which corner contained the object. In the space-movement task, performance was above chance at only the unique corner. On both tasks, performance was better from inside the space than from outside. The implications for how children determine location are discussed.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A