Abstract
The present study examined how to use spatial information for reorientation during two disorientation tasks, involving either viewer or space rotation, within a small rectangular space (45.0cm×67.5cm) on a table. Thirty-two adults participated in Experiment 1, and searched for the correct corner by combining geometric configuration with a local cue, on an object retrieval task. In Experiment 2, 3- to 6-year old children (N=60) used a salient landmark rather than the geometry of the apparatus, and did not combine information to find a hidden object. Regarding the two disorientation tasks, adults more frequently made use of geometric cues in the space-rotated situation than in the viewer-rotated situation, but children' performance did not differ between the two disorientation tasks. These results suggested that 3- to 6 year-old children may construct a spatial representation based on landmark information for reorientation, whether or not they have been moved themselves, when they use a table-top model. This finding was contrasted with that of preschoolers' use of locomotor space in previous studies.
