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Developmental changes in the mental transformation of spatial arrays
Christos S Michaelides1, Marios N Avraamides1
1Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|August 20, 2017
Summary
Children
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Spatial Cognition
Background:
- Spatial memory involves encoding and recalling object locations.
- Spatial transformation requires manipulating spatial relationships.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate spatial memory and transformation in children (7, 9, 11) and adults.
- To compare developmental trajectories of spatial memory retrieval versus transformation.
Main Methods:
- Participants memorized animal locations on a circle.
- A direct retrieval task assessed recall accuracy.
- A transformation task assessed the preservation of relative object positions after displacement.
Main Results:
- Seven-year-olds showed lower accuracy in direct retrieval compared to older children and adults.
- Adults outperformed children in the spatial transformation task.
- Eleven-year-olds demonstrated better transformation skills than 7-year-olds.
Conclusions:
- Spatial transformation ability develops gradually throughout childhood.
- Spatial transformation shows a steeper developmental curve than simple spatial memory retrieval.
Keywords:
Cognitive developmentMental rotationSpatial cognitionSpatial developmentSpatial memorySpatial transformationsMore Related Videos
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