Young Children's Use of Spatial Reference Frames in a Reconstruction Task : Effects of Cover and Movement Path

Humans typically use two kinds of spatial reference system to understand the world: the relative reference frame, and the absolute reference frame. In the current study, we used a reconstruction task (the animals-in-a-row task) to examine the development of the spatial reference system in children. Children aged 4–6 years participated in two experiments. Experiment 1 examined whether children utilize an absolute reference frame when the object was covered. Experiment 2 examined whether children utilized different reference frames when the movement path was changed. The results revealed that cover did not influence children’s spatial reference frame method. In addition, children used absolute reference frames more effectively when they moved around the table, compared with when they moved between the tables. We discuss these findings in the context of previous research, and the development of the use of reference frames over time