Development of lateral differences in perceptual versus semantic matching of line drawings by 4- to 12-year-old children.
Item
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Title
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Development of lateral differences in perceptual versus semantic matching of line drawings by 4- to 12-year-old children.
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Identifier
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AAI9029954
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identifier
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9029954
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Creator
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Kuslansky, Gail.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Tina Moreau
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Date
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1990
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Developmental | Psychology, Experimental
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Abstract
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Sixty right-handed boys (20 in each of three age groups, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 years of age) were presented tachistoscopically with line drawings of familiar objects, with a standard stimulus picture presented to the left or right of central fixation for 150 msec, followed by two side-by-side comparison picture stimuli: (1) a perceptual/configurational match; and (2) a semantic/categorical match. The children were instructed to pick the comparison picture that "goes best" with the (standard) picture that preceded and to indicate their preference by moving a manipulandum ("joystick") in the direction (left or right) of the chosen comparison. The two response measures were: (1) matchtype (perceptual/configurational or semantic/categorical) and (2) reaction time. Younger children were expected to make more perceptual matches and fewer semantic matches than the older children. A RVF/LH advantage for semantic matches and a LVF/RH superiority for perceptual matches was hypothesized, with an age-related shift from a preference for perceptual matching (LVF/RH) to a preference for semantic matching (RVF/LH). Although all the boys made more semantic than perceptual matches, the youngest group made significantly more perceptual matches than the older children, a finding consistent with Piaget and other developmental theorists. Whereas no visual hemified asymmetry in reaction time was shown for perceptual matching, an unexpected "laterality shift" was demonstrated for semantic matching, with a progression from a LVF/RH advantage in the 4-6 year olds, to no visual hemified asymmetry in the 7-9 year olds, to the typical adult-like RVF/LH superiority in the 10-12 year olds. The results are consistent with Goldberg and Costa's (1981) theory of laterality regarding acquisition of descriptive codes, and the role of the right hemisphere in the acquisition of language in children (Dennis, 1980; Schneiderman, 1988). Findings are discussed with respect to the developmental literature regarding the emergence of matching and categorizing skills in children, and to the laterality literature with special consideration of the differing views concerning the development of lateralized functions, including Lenneberg's (1967) theory of progressive lateralization and Kinsbourne's (1975, 1981) theory of developmental invariance.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
