The Role of Spatial and Classification Operations in Young Children's Memory for an Organized Environment

Abstract

Memory for a room-sized spatial arrangement was examined in relation to spatial operations and classification operations. Sixty first grade children were asked to remember the location of eight cardboard houses clustered by physical characteristics (i.e., color and texture) into four groups on the floor of a room. Euclidean spatial operations as assessed with two Piagetian spatial tasks, the representation of an invariant vertical (i.e., a tree on the side of a hill) and a two-dimensional point duplication problem, were expected to predict memory for exact spatial location of individual items on the floor of the room. Since items were clustered according to a logical system, it was also hypothesized that classification operations would predict memory for the more general location in which individual items belonged. Results of a multiple regression showed that Euclidean knowledge, as measured by verticality, along with age in months, predicted memory for exact spatial location. While classification knowledge was unrelated to memory for general room area, the absence of this predicted relationship may be attributed to the number of objects in the arrangement as well as the size of the room. These findings, taken along with earlier work, demonstrate the need to examine the joint impact of operative knowledge, other cognitive factors, and the physical context itself in studying children's developing ability to remember real-world environments.