The Representation of Geometric Cues in Infancy
- 4 March 2008
- Vol. 13 (2), 103-127
- https://doi.org/10.1080/15250000701795572
Abstract
There is evidence that, from an early age, humans are sensitive to spatial information such as simple landmarks and the size of objects. This study concerns the ability to represent a particular kind of spatial information, namely, the geometry of an enclosed layout—an ability present in older children, adults, and nonhuman animals (e.g., Cheng, 1986; Hermer & Spelke, 1996). Using a looking‐time procedure, 4.5‐ to 6.5‐month‐olds were tested on whether they could distinguish among the corners of an isosceles triangle. On each trial, the target corner was marked by a red dot. The stimulus (triangle with dot) appeared from different orientations across trials, ensuring that only cues related to the triangle itself could be used to differentiate the corners. When orientations were highly variable, infants discriminated the unique corner (i.e., the corner with the smaller angle and two equal‐length sides) from a nonunique corner; they could not discriminate between the two nonunique corners. With less variable orientations, however, infants did discriminate between the nonunique corners of the isosceles triangle. Implications for how infants represent geometric cues are discussed.Keywords
This publication has 79 references indexed in Scilit:
- Cognitive cladistics and cultural override in Hominid spatial cognitionProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006
- The development of area discrimination and its implications for number representation in infancyDevelopmental Science, 2006
- How Infants Encode Spatial ExtentInfancy, 2005
- Toddlers' Representations of SpacePsychological Science, 2005
- How toddlers represent enclosed spacesCognitive Science, 2003
- Dynamic mental representation in infancyCognition, 1997
- Viewpoint Dependence in Scene RecognitionPsychological Science, 1997
- Development of sitting and reaching in 5- to 6-month-old infantsInfant Behavior and Development, 1995
- Reasoning about the height and location of a hidden object in 4.5- and 6.5-month-old infantsCognition, 1991
- Building spatial representations through primary and secondary learning.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1984