Using the axis of elongation to align shapes: Developmental changes between 18 and 24 months of age

Smith, Linda B., Street, Sandra, Jones, Susan S. and James, Karin H. (2014) Using the axis of elongation to align shapes: Developmental changes between 18 and 24 months of age. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 123. pp. 15-35. ISSN 0022-0965

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Abstract

An object’s axis of elongation serves as an important frame of reference for forming three-dimensional representations of object shape. By several recent accounts, the formation of these representations is also related to experiences of acting on objects. Four experiments examined 18- to 24-month-olds’ (N = 103) sensitivity to the elongated axis in action tasks that required extracting, comparing, and physically rotating an object so that its major axis was aligned with that of a visual standard. In Experiments 1 and 2, the older toddlers precisely rotated both simple and complexly shaped three-dimensional objects in insertion tasks where the visual standard was the rectangular contour defining the opening in a box. The younger toddlers performed poorly. Experiments 3 and 4 provide evidence on emerging abilities in extracting and using the most extended axis as a frame of reference for shape comparison. Experiment 3 showed that 18-month-olds could rotate an object to align its major axis with the direction of their own hand motion, and Experiment 4 showed that they could align the major axis of one object with that of another object of the exact same three-dimensional shape. The results are discussed in terms of theories of the development of three-dimensional shape representations, visual object recognition, and the role of action in these developments.

Item Type: Article
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 30 Nov 2018 12:30
Last Modified: 22 Oct 2022 04:19
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/69111
DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.01.009

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