Developmental differences in the use of an abstract reference frame to infer spatial relationships.

16 2nd and 3rd graders, 16 5th and 6th graders, and 16 undergraduates were exposed to a very large, unfamiliar neighborhood. Half the Ss at each age level were shown the perimeter and then interior of the environment (P-I), and the other half were shown the interior and then perimeter (I-P). Results of subsequent testing indicate that children recalled spatial locations more accurately in the P-I condition than they did in the I-P condition, whereas younger children performed with equivalent accuracy across conditions; adults were very accurate in both conditions. These results suggest that age 11 yrs may be a critical point in development at which children benefit from perimeter knowledge of a large environment. This beneficial aspect of perimeter knowledge coincides with the onset of formal operational thought and children's ability to code and coordinate an environment in relation to abstract axes or directions defining a grid as described by Piaget and Inhelder (1967). (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)