The content and manipulation of cognitive maps in children and adults

Comparison of cognitive maps generated by first graders, fifth graders, and college students using a triangulation task revealed that the first graders possessed very accurate, coherent cognitive maps. However, analyses of the cognitive maps generated when Ss were asked to imagine either the room rotating (mental rotation) or themselves moving within the room (perspective-taking) revealed that the accuracy and completeness of the mental manipulation increased dramatically with age. Only the cognitive maps of the college students were coherent and accurate during mental rotation than during perspective-taking. Careful attention was given to the types of errors made, and several systematic error patterns were identified which reflected qualitative differences. These qualitative differences indicated mental manipulation was a two-stage process. In the first stage, a strategy of transformation was applied to the ordinal spatial relationships contained within the cognitive map. First graders evidenced difficulty here. In the second stage, more specific relationships between self and spatial layout were reconstructed. Fifth graders evidenced difficulty here. In contrast, college students were able to complete both stages of the process.