Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
916789 Cognitive Development 2006 16 Pages PDF
Abstract

Utilization of a footprint trail for locating a hidden person may indicate the extension of semiotics to the spatial domain of search. We sought to determine whether young children implemented footprint tracking, and found that at 3-years they successfully tracked footprints on only 3% of trials, at 4-years on 9% of trials, and at 5-years on 41% of trials. Examination of search procedures revealed a set of strategies and biases that prevailed prior to successful footprint tracking, and that may compete with the adoption of a strategy based on treating footprints as symbols of a traveler's movements.

Related Topics
Social Sciences and Humanities Psychology Developmental and Educational Psychology
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