Preschool children's ability to visually represent relations
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Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
Published on: May 15, 2019
Susanne Koerber1, Beate Sodian
1Department of Psychology, University of Munich, Germany. koerber@edupsy.uni-muenchen.de
Abstract:
The developmental origins of mapping temporal relations onto space was investigated in N = 122 3- to 5-year-old children and adults. Spontaneous production and comprehension were investigated. Production was investigated in two conditions: an iconic condition (three-dimensional objects depicting the events or objects to be represented) and an abstract condition (plain discs). Consistent with findings by Tversky, Kugelmass and Winter (1991), 5-year-olds performed on an adult-like level. Developmental progress was observed between the ages of 3 and 4 years, with comprehension preceding production. Consistent with DeLoache's findings (2000), 4-year-olds' performance was better in abstract than in iconic conditions, indicating that dual representational demands may have affected task performance in the iconic condition. In sum, abilities to map temporal relations onto spatial relations appear to develop spontaneously, even before children have experience with conventional notational systems.
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