Psychology Department, Temple University, 1701 N. 13th St, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
Dev Sci. 2010 Jan 1;13(1):213-20. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00877.x.
Proponents of a geometric module have argued that instances of young children's use of features as well as geometry to reorient can be explained by a two-stage process. In this model, only the first stage is a true reorientation, accomplished by using geometric information alone; features are considered in a second stage using association (Lee, Shusterman & Spelke, 2006). This account is contradicted by the data from two experiments. Experiment 1a sets the stage for Experiment 1b by showing that young children use geometric information to reorient in a complex geometric figure without a single principal axis of symmetry (an octagon). In such a figure, there are two sets of geometrically congruent corners, with four corners in each set. The addition of a colored wall leads to the existence of three geometrically congruent but, crucially, all unmarked corners; using the colored wall to distinguish among them could not be done associatively. In Experiment 1b, both 3- and 5-year-old children showed true non-associative reorientation using features by performing at above-chance levels on all-white trials. Experiment 2 used a paradigm without distinctive geometry, modeled on Lee et al. (2006), involving an equilateral triangle of hiding places located within a circular enclosure, but with a large stable feature rather than a small moveable one. Four-year-olds (the age group studied by Lee et al.) used features at above-chance levels. Thus, features can be used to reorient, in a way not dependent on association, in contradiction to the two-stage version of the modular view.
几何模块的支持者认为，儿童使用特征和几何来重新定向的实例可以通过两阶段过程来解释。在这个模型中，只有第一阶段是真正的重新定向，仅使用几何信息来完成；在第二阶段，使用关联来考虑特征（Lee、Shusterman 和 Spelke，2006）。这一说法与两项实验的数据相矛盾。实验 1a 通过显示幼儿在没有单一对称轴的复杂几何图形中使用几何信息重新定向（一个八角形），为实验 1b 奠定了基础。在这样的图形中，有两组几何上全等的角，每组有四个角。添加一个彩色墙壁导致存在三个几何上全等但关键是所有未标记的角；不可能通过关联来区分它们。在实验 1b 中，3 岁和 5 岁的儿童在所有白色试验中都以上限水平表现，表明他们使用特征进行了真正的非联想重新定向。实验 2 使用了一种没有独特几何形状的范式，模仿了 Lee 等人（2006 年）的实验，涉及位于圆形围栏内的隐藏位置的等边三角形，但有一个大的稳定特征，而不是小的可移动特征。四岁的儿童（Lee 等人研究的年龄组）以上限水平使用特征。因此，特征可以被用来重新定向，而不是依赖于联想，这与模块视图的两阶段版本相矛盾。
