Developmental continuity in the processes that underlie spatial recall.
This study investigated whether children's spatial recall performance shows three separable characteristics: (1) biases away from symmetry axes (geometric effects); (2) systematic drift over delays; and (3) biases toward the exemplar distribution experienced in the task (experience-dependent effects). In Experiment 1, the location of one target within each geometric category was varied. Children's responses showed biases away from a midline axis that increased over delays. In Experiment 2, multiple targets were placed within each category at the same locations used in Experiment 1. After removing geometric effects, 6-year-olds'--but not 11-year-olds'--responses were biased toward the average remembered location over learning. In Experiment 3, children responded to one target more frequently than the others. Both 6- and 11-year-olds showed biases toward the most frequent target over learning. These results provide a bridge between the performance of younger children and adults, demonstrating continuity in the processes that underlie spatial memory abilities across development.
Spencer
John P
JP
Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, 11 Seashore Hall E, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. john-spencer@uiowa.edu
Hund
Alycia M
AM
D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D011939:Mental Recall; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011340:Problem Solving; D012153:Retention, Psychology