Children's Cognitive Functions for Visual Search in Information Presented on a Computer Screen

Abstract

Children's ability to search for an icon on a computer screen was investigated in the process of developing their cognitive functions. The experiment comprised two parts including the estimation of the number and sequence of icons. The participants were 10 four-year-old and 10 six-year-old children, and 10 adults. In experiment I, the subjects were asked to select a target item randomly selected from 2-10 icons on a computer screen and estimate the number of icons displayed on the screen. In experiment II, they were asked to select a target item from icons randomly arrayed vertically and horizontally on a computer screen. The success rate and time of selection were used as indexes of performance. The participants' searching performance improved with the development. Searching through the horizontal sequence was the easiest for both 4-year-old children and adults.