title: An examination of errors in children's visual and haptic-tactual memory for random forms.
abstract: Hypotheses were advanced that (a) errors of omission would occur more frequently than errors of commission, and (b) errors would be related to stimulus complexity. Forty-eight children, 12 boys and 12 girls from each grades 1 and 3 were given a memory task for recognition of random polygons of 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 sides; these forms were presented either visually or haptically. Visual memory was found to be superior to haptic memory, and performance on both tasks improved with age. Analyses of error-type and sideness, the two major variables of a priori interest, indicated support for both hypotheses. The curvilinear relationship between errors and sideness suggested difficulty in identifying shapes of intermediate complexity.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D014110:Touch; D014796:Visual Perception