Spatial Exploration and Spatial Knowledge: Individual and Developmental Differences in Very Young Children

Abstract

HAZEN, NANCY L. Spatial Exploration and Spatial Knowledge: Individual and Developmental Differences in Very Young Children. CmILD DEVELOPMENT, 1982, 53, 826-833. This report examines the relationship between young children's spatial exploration and their cognitive representations of environments. Children aged 20-28 months and 36-44 months explored a museum room, and measures of the quantity and mode (active vs. passive) of their exploration were recorded. Later, the same children were taught a specific route through a laboratory playhouse. Half of them first explored the playhouse freely while measures of the quantity and mode of their exploration were recorded. All of the children were then required to reverse the known route, detour from this route to reach a goal, and reach the goal from other starting positions. Results indicated that active exploration in the playhouse was related to accurate knowledge of its spatial layout. In addition, mode of exploration in the playhouse was correlated with mode of exploration in the museum, and active exploration in the museum was predictive of accurate spatial knowledge of the playhouse. It was concluded that there exist individual differences in the extent to which children explore actively or passively, and that such individual differences may influence cognitive mapping abilities.