Preschoolers use maps to find a hidden object outdoors

Preschoolers use maps to find a hidden object outdoors

This study investigated the ability of preschool children to use a planar map of a 50 m 2 area to find a hidden object. Thirty-two 3 - 5 1 2 -year olds were asked to find a toy hidden in an open field. Independent of age, children who had the map found the object significantly more often than those...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental psychology Vol. 24; no. 3; pp. 341 - 345
Main Authors: Stea, David, Kerkman, Dennis D., Piñon, Marites F., Middlebrook, Nancy N., Rice, Jennifer L.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Amsterdam Elsevier India Pvt Ltd 01-09-2004
Elsevier
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child development
Cognition. Intelligence
Developmental psychology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hidden objects
Open space
Preschool children
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Spatial location
Spatial perception. Time perception
Human
Preschool age
Use
Sex
Spatial orientation
Problem solving
Spatial ability
Map(geography)
Cognition
Child
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Summary:This study investigated the ability of preschool children to use a planar map of a 50 m 2 area to find a hidden object. Thirty-two 3 - 5 1 2 -year olds were asked to find a toy hidden in an open field. Independent of age, children who had the map found the object significantly more often than those who did not. The results are consistent with universal mapping theory in that preschool-aged children used a two-dimensional planar, scale map to find a hidden object in an open, unbounded, outdoor environment. Girls significantly outperformed boys in locating the target object, but this is appears to have been due to differences in willingness to comply with instructions, rather than differences in spatial abilities.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0272-4944
1522-9610
DOI:10.1016/j.jenvp.2004.05.003