Localization of events in space: Young infants are not always egocentric

Abstract

Factors associated with spatial reference in a small-scale space were investigated in three experiments. Subjects were first trained to anticipate an event at one specific location from two different directions of facing. They were then required to locate this event from a novel direction. Both 6-and 8-month infants visually anticipated the whereabouts of the event from the novel direction and displayed persistent visual fixation towards the place where it had previously appeared. For 8-month infants, successful anticipation was dependent neither on the distinctiveness of landmarks at the event position nor on the angle of their change in direction of facing. It was concluded that, at least for the space in front of the body, young infants are not exclusively limited to a fixed egocentric reference system for determining object or event location.Ability to perceive the fixed location of an object or an event in space despite observer movement, i.e. 'position constancy', is an important feature of cognitive development thought to be exhibited late in the first or early in the second year of life. The conditions which govern this ability have not been extensively studied. The general aim of the experiments reported here was to investigate these conditions using anticipatory looking and duration of fixation as indices.In considering position constancy, three typical situations involving change in the position of an observer relative to a stable surround can be identified. In the first, subjects are rotated while remaining in the same place; in the second they are relocated while facing in the same direction and in the third, they are both rotated and relocated. In all cases the position of objects and events relative to the subject undergoes change. In the interest of clarity, the effect of rotation will be referred to here as change in the direction of facing and relocation as change in the position of observation.

The role of crawling and walking experience in infant spatial memory

“…The 9-and 11-month-olds responded egocentrically in the absence of landmarks but correctly in the presence of landmarks. McKenzie, Day, and Ihsen (1984) reported similar results.…”

“…Although the previously mentioned studies found no evidence of cue use in infants under 9 months of age, a few studies found that infants can be trained to use cues with enough practice trials (e.g., Cornell & Heth, 1979;McKenzie et al, 1984), suggesting that younger infants may be able to use direct landmarks given the right task and training. This raises the issue of why infants in the current experiment seemed to be unable to use the direct landmark, whereas in other studies they could.…”

Exploratory Behavior in the Development of Perceiving, Acting, and the Acquiring of Knowledge

“…Earlier work assigned development of the ability to appreciate another person's point of view (that it was different from one's own and that what might be visible or occluded for that person was not the same as for oneself) to a rather late age, but as better ways of testing the activities and knowledge of younger children were found, the age was progressively lowered. McKenzie et al (1984) found that six-and eight month-old infants could locate an anticipated event from a novel direction after rotation, and did not search always in a constant direction relative to themselves. The rotations were 30 or 60 degrees to the right or left of the child's original position.…”

Developmental Changes in Young Children's Spatial Memory and Language in Relation to Landmarks

“…How does memory for locations change during the preschool years? Early research focused on young children's use of egocentric and allocentric cues (e.g., Acredolo, 1977Acredolo, , 1978McKenzie, Day, & Ihsen, 1984). For example, Acredolo and Evans (1980) showed that egocentric responding declined during the first year of life.…”