Factors affecting accuracy of perception on a task requiring the ability to identify viewpoints

A study was undertaken to determine the relative contribution of age, sex, and three stimulus features (board shape, block arrangement, and block shape) to perceptual accuracy on 39 board/block adaptations of Piaget's three-mountain task. The sample consisted of 830 children (420 1st graders and 410 5th graders) and 130 college students. Stimulus features of the board/block task accounted for between 22% and 26% of the explained variability among accuracy scores; however, interactions of other factors with age were nonsignificant. When data from college students were combined with children, a curvilinear developmental relationship between age and perceptual accuracy was obtained. The board/block task has promise as an instrument for longitudinal studies.