Reproduction of Kohs-type figures by Ghanaian children: orientation errors revisited

First, a relationship was postulated between the experienced difficulty of patterns and the amount of disorientation of their reproductions. Secondly, while the major determinants of gross orientation errors among Africans seem to have been established, this in itself fails to explain why Europeans are little affected by them. It was proposed that the underlying factor might be the development of the concept of horizontality, which reduces dependence on the perceptual pull of the prevailing spatial framework. These notions were tested with 44 Ghanaian schoolboys aged between 10 and 16. The first relationship was clearly confirmed. As for the second, there was some association between horizontality and rotation errors, but it failed to account for a major part of the variance. Ex post facto exploration of the data strongly suggests that degree of psychological differentiation is likely to be the key factor influencing rotation error.