CHILDRENS ANALYSIS OF HIERARCHICAL PATTERNS - EVIDENCE FROM A SIMILARITY JUDGMENT TASK

Three experiments in this study examined the development of young chil dren's analysis of spatial patterns, specifically hierarchical letter and geometric forms. In a forced choice task, 4- and 6-year-olds and a dult subjects chose one of two choice forms as most similar to a targe t form. Specific stimulus manipulations were introduced to assess chil dren's ability to segment and integrate hierarchically organized infor mation under different conditions. In Experiment 1 adults served as su bjects in a computerized version that provided both choice and respons e latency data. In Experiments 2 and 3 children and adults participate d in a pencil and paper version of the forced choice task. Results sho wed that although children as young as 4 years of age demonstrated sub stantial analytic competence, their ability to integrate the parts of the spatial array to form a coherent whole was weaker and more easily disrupted than that of the older children and adults. (C) 1996 Academi c Press, Inc.