Is height a core geometric cue for navigation? Young children's use of height in reorientation

Abstract

With respect to reorientation, children older than 1.5 to 2 years can use geometric cues (distance and left/right sense). However, because previous studies have focused mainly on the plane geometric properties, little is known about the role of information with respect to vertical dimension in children's reorientation. The current study aimed to examine whether and how 3- and 4-year-old children use height information to search for a hidden toy when disoriented in a small enclosure. In a slant-ceiling rectangular room and a slant-ceiling square room, 4-year-olds were able to use height information to reorient and search for the toy in the correct corner, whereas 3-year-olds were not able to do so. Our results suggest that children can, at least by the age of 4 years, use height information and that height is not used as early as other geometric properties that are in the core geometry system for navigation.

Keywords: Adaptive combination theory; Core geometry system; Geometric cue; Geometric module; Height; Spatial reorientation.