Location representation in enclosed spaces: What types of information afford young children an advantage? Lourenco, Addy D., & Huttenlocher, J. (2009) Journal of Experimental Child Psychology |
It has been suggested that young children can only reorient, locating a target object, when the geometry of an enclosed space provides distinctive shape information [e.g., Hermer, L., & Spelke, E. (1994). A geometric process for spatial reorientation in young children. Nature, 370, 57–59]. Recently, however, young children were shown to specify location in a square-shaped space, where geometry is uninformative, so long as scale-like information was available on the walls of the space... |
The plasticity of near space: Evidence for contraction |
The distinction between near space and the space farther away has been well established, as has the relation of this distinction to arm length. Recent studies provide evidence for the plasticity of near space, showing that it is possible to expand its extent (‘‘size”) through tool-use. In the present study, we examine the converse effect, whether contraction of near space results from increasing the effort involved on a line bisection task... |
Multiple spatial representations of number: evidence for co-existing compressive and linear scales |
Although the spatial representation of number (mental number line) is well documented, the scaling associated with this representation is less clear. Sometimes people appear to rely on compressive scaling, and sometimes on linear scaling. Here we provide evidence for both compressive and linear representations on the same numerical bisection task, in which adult participants estimate (without calculating) the midpoint between two numbers... |
Spatial Organization of Magnitude in the Representation of Number and Emotion Holmes, K. J. & Lourenco, S. F. (2009). Cognitive Science Proceedings |
Converging behavioral and neural evidence suggests that numerical representations are spatially organized from left-to right, the so-called mental number line. When judging parity (odd/even), for example, smaller and larger numbers produce faster left- and right-side responses, respectively (the SNARC effect). Three experiments revealed that this spatial organization of magnitude extends to the representation of emotion... |
From numerical concepts to concepts of numbers |
Many experiments with infants suggest that they possess quantitative abilities, and many experimentalists believe that these abilities set the stage for later mathematics: natural numbers and arithmetic. However, the connection between these early and later skills is far from obvious. We evaluate two possible routes to mathematics and argue that neither is sufficient... |
The Representation of Geometric Cues in Infancy |
There is evidence that, from an early age, humans are sensitive to spatial information such as simple landmarks and the size of objects. This study concerns the ability to represent a particular kind of spatial information, namely, the geometry of an enclosed layout—an ability present in older children, adults, and nonhuman animals (e.g., Cheng, 1986; Hermer & Spelke, 1996)... |
Coding location in enclosed spaces: is geometry the principle?
Huttenlocher,J. & Lourenco,S.F. (2007). Developmental Science |
Both animals and human toddlers can find an object in a rectangular enclosure after they have been disoriented. They use geometric cues (relative lengths of walls) to discriminate among different corners (e.g. long wall to the left, short to the right). It has been claimed that this ability is ‘modular’, i.e. exclusively geometric. The present study demonstrates that the ability toddlers exhibit is a more general one, namely, an ability to discriminate relative quantity... |
Estimating Stimuli From Contrasting Categories: Truncation Due to
Boundaries Huttenlocher, J., Hedges, L.V., Lourenco, S.F., Crawford, L.E. & Corrigan, B. (2007). Journal of Experimental Psychology |
In this article, the authors present and test a formal model that holds that people use information about category boundaries in estimating inexactly represented stimuli. Boundaries restrict stimuli that are category members to fall within a particular range. This model posits that people increase the average accuracy of stimulus estimates by integrating fine-grain values with boundary information, eliminating extreme responses... |
Using Spatial Categories to Reason About Location Huttenlocher, J. & Lourenco, S.F. (2007). In J. Plumert & J. Spencers (Eds.), The Emerging Spatial Mind |
This volume is concerned with spatial development, an adaptively important aspect of cognitive function. Coding the locations of objects and places (foodsupplies, one's home base, etc.) and being able to use this information to find important locations are critical for humans and other animals. This chapter addressesan important characteristic of location coding, namely, that it is hierarchically organized... |
Spatial attention and the mental number line: Evidence for |
Numbers are often proposed to be represented spatially as lying along a mental number line. The present study examined whether the direction of spatial attention operates similarly in physical and numerical space. Participants bisected physical lines by indicating the perceived center and “bisected” the mental number line by estimating (without calculating) the number midway between two others. |
Space perception and body morphology: extent |
Numerous studies have found that the near space immediately surrounding the body is represented diverently than more distant space. In a previous study, we found a gradual shift in attentional bias (on a line bisection task) between near and far space (Longo and Lourenco in Neuropsychologia 44:977–981, 2006). The present study concerns the possibility that arm length relates systematically to the rate at which this gradual shift between near and far space occurs... |
Socioeconomic Status Modifies
the Sex Difference in Spatial Skill Levine, S.C., Vasilyeva, M., Lourenco, S.F., Newcombe, N. S. & Huttenlocher, J. (2006). Psychological Science |
We examined whether the male spatial advantage varies across children from different socioeconomic (SES) groups. In a longitudinal study, children were administered two spatial tasks requiring mental transformations and a syntax comprehension task in the fall and spring of second and third grades. Boys from middleand high-SES backgrounds outperformed their female counterparts on both spatial tasks, whereas boys and girls from a low-SES group did not differ in their performance level on these tasks... |
On the nature of near space: Effects of |
Many researchers have proposed that the near space immediately surrounding the body is represented differently than more distant space. Indeed, it has often been suggested that near space encompasses that within arm’s reach. The present study used a line bisection task in healthy adults to investigate the effects of tool use on space perception, and the nature of the transition between near and far space. Subjects bisected lines at four distances controlled for both veridical and angular size using a laser pointer and a set of sticks... |
How do young children determine location? |
Previous studies show that following disorientation children use the geometry of an enclosed space to locate an object hidden in one of the corners [e.g. (Hermer, L., & Spelke, E. (1996).Modularity and development: A case of spatial reorientation. Cognition, 61, 195–232)]. These studies have used a disorientation procedure that involves rotating the viewer (with eyes closed). Here, we examine 18- to 25-month-olds’ spatial coding in two disorientation tasks—involving either viewer or space rotation. |
Using geometry to specify location: implications for spatial coding in children and nonhuman animals |
The study of spatial cognition has benefited greatly from a technique known as the disorientation procedure. This procedure was originally used with rats to show that they relied on the geometry of an enclosed space to locate a target hidden in that space. Disorientation has since been used with a variety of mobile animals, including human children, to examine the coding of geometric information. Here, we focus mostly on our recent work with young children. We examine a set of issues concerning reorientation... |
Toddlers’ Representations of Space: Lourenco, S. F., Huttenlocher, J. & Vasilyeva, M. (2005). Psychological Science |
In the present study, we examined how people code object location when an object is hidden in an enclosed space. On object location tasks involving disorientation, viewers must code the location of an object in relation to the spatial environment because they cannot directly track their changing relation to the object. Recently, we showed that viewers also code their perspective relative to the entire space (inside vs. outside) in such tasks... |
Imitation and the dialectic of representation Zelazo, P. D. & Lourenco, S. F. (2003). Developmental Review |
In this paper, we take up Kessen's challenge to develop a philosophically and historically informed developmental theory by describing a theory of the understanding and use of representations that draws heavily on the hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur and the genetic epistemology of James Mark Baldwin... |