title: The impact of object type on the spatial analogies in Korean preschoolers.
abstract: We tested young children's spatial reasoning in a match-to-sample task, manipulating the objects in the task (abstract geometric shapes, line drawings of realistic objects, or both). Korean 4- and 5-year-old children (N=161) generalized the target spatial configuration (i.e., on, in, above) more easily when the sample used geometric shapes and the choices used realistic objects than the reverse (i.e., realistic-object sample to geometric-shape choices). With within-type stimuli (i.e., sample and choices were both geometric shapes or both realistic objects), 5-year-old, but not 4-year-old, children generalized the spatial relations more easily with geometric shapes than realistic objects. In addition, children who knew more locative terms (e.g., "in", "on") performed better on the task, suggesting a link to children's spatial vocabulary. The results demonstrate an advantage of geometric shapes over realistic objects in facilitating young children's performance on a match-to-sample spatial reasoning task.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, 603-112, Pusan National University, 2, Busandaehak-ro 63beon-gil, Geumjeong-gu, Pusan 46241, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: youjeongpark@pusan.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Youjeong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development, B51 MVR Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, United States. Electronic address: mc272@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Marianella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casasola
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005793:Generalization, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011340:Problem Solving; D056910:Republic of Korea; D013028:Space Perception; D065855:Spatial Processing; D014825:Vocabulary
keywords: Generalization; Object features; Spatial reasoning; Spatial vocabulary