Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Transfer of spatial search between environments in human adults and young children (Homo sapiens)
T2 - implications for representation of local geometry by spatial systems
AU - Lew, Adina
AU - Usherwood, Barrie
AU - Fragkioudaki, Frantzeska
AU - Koukoumi, Varvara
AU - Smith, Shamus P.
AU - Austen, Joe M.
AU - McGregor, Anthony
PY - 2014/4
Y1 - 2014/4
N2 - Whether animals represent environmental geometry in a global and/or local way has been the subject of recent debate. We applied a transfer of search paradigm between rectangular- and kite-shaped arenas to examine the performance of human adults (using virtual environments) and children of 2.5– 3.5 years (using real arenas). Adults showed robust transfer to a congruent cor- ner in a kite-shaped arena, following training in a rectangular-shaped arena in two paradigms modeled on those used with rats and young children respectively. In contrast, the children showed no evidence of transfer of search, despite above chance performance in the rectangular arena, and above chance performance in a study where search occurred in the kite arena only. The pattern of findings suggests global aspects of environmental geometry may be used to re-establish heading, and that the matching of elements of local geometry in new global con- texts may be an advanced developmental achievement.
AB - Whether animals represent environmental geometry in a global and/or local way has been the subject of recent debate. We applied a transfer of search paradigm between rectangular- and kite-shaped arenas to examine the performance of human adults (using virtual environments) and children of 2.5– 3.5 years (using real arenas). Adults showed robust transfer to a congruent cor- ner in a kite-shaped arena, following training in a rectangular-shaped arena in two paradigms modeled on those used with rats and young children respectively. In contrast, the children showed no evidence of transfer of search, despite above chance performance in the rectangular arena, and above chance performance in a study where search occurred in the kite arena only. The pattern of findings suggests global aspects of environmental geometry may be used to re-establish heading, and that the matching of elements of local geometry in new global con- texts may be an advanced developmental achievement.
KW - patial navigation
KW - geometric module
KW - reorientation
KW - spatial development
KW - spatial cognition
KW - local geometry
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84875303841&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/dev.21109
DO - 10.1002/dev.21109
M3 - Journal article
VL - 56
SP - 421
EP - 434
JO - Developmental Psychobiology
JF - Developmental Psychobiology
SN - 0012-1630
IS - 3
ER -