Development of detection and recognition of orientation of geometric and real figures.

Black and white kindergarten and second-grade children were tested for accuracy of detection and recognition of orientation and location changes in pictures of real-world and geometric figures. No differences were found in accuracy of recognition between the 2 kinds of pictures, but patterns of verbalization differed on specific transformations. Although differences in accuracy were found between kindergarten and second grade on an initial recognition task, practice on a matching-to-sample task eliminated differences on a second recognition task. Few ethnic differences were found on accuracy of recognition, but significant differences were found in amount of verbal output on specific transformations. For both groups, mention of orientation changes was markedly reduced when location changes were present.