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Developmental changes in memorial comparisons: the effects of stimulus presentation mode
1University of Cincinnati, OH 45221.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|June 1, 1992
Summary
Children and college students judged object sizes from pictures or words, showing faster picture-based judgments. This study reveals a developmental decline in magnitude comparison slopes, contrary to prior assumptions about pictorial superiority.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Human Perception
Background:
- The symbolic distance effect describes how judgments of difference are faster when the difference is larger.
- Previous research suggested a developmental decline in the "pictorial superiority effect," where pictures are processed more efficiently than words.
- This effect's developmental trajectory may be influenced by memory demands, not solely stimulus modality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related differences in comparative size judgments using both pictorial and word stimuli.
- To examine the "symbolic distance effect" across different age groups (first graders, fifth graders, college students).
- To clarify the role of stimulus modality and memory demands in the "pictorial superiority effect" during development.
Main Methods:
- Participants (first graders, fifth graders, college students) performed comparative size judgments on common objects presented as either line drawings or spoken names.
- Stimulus presentation and response time intervals were carefully controlled to equate picture and word conditions.
- The symbolic distance effect was measured by analyzing response times as a function of the difference in object size.
Main Results:
- All age groups demonstrated the symbolic distance effect.
- Object size judgments were consistently faster with pictures than with words, irrespective of age.
- A significant age-related decline in the slopes of the symbolic distance functions was observed from first to fifth grade.
Conclusions:
- The study provides the first evidence of an age-related decline in slopes for magnitude comparisons of concrete objects.
- The "pictorial superiority effect" may not decline with age as previously thought, potentially due to confounding memory factors in earlier studies.
- Developmental changes in cognitive processing influence how children and adults make magnitude judgments based on symbolic representations.
