Cite as:
McGonigle B O, Chalmers M, 1980, "The selective impact of verbally communicated criteria in orientation judgements by young children" Perception 9(3) 345 – 351
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The selective impact of verbally communicated criteria in orientation judgements by young children

Brendan O McGonigle, Margaret Chalmers

Received 26 March 1979, in revised form 10 November 1979

Abstract. In a series of tests requiring judgements of orientation, the impact of a verbally transmitted equivalence criterion (e.g. "Pick me out the one exactly the same as this one") was compared with one which specified the 'identity' of the target as a 'standing up' or 'lying down' pattern. When a subset of four-year-olds was given the latter instruction, their performance improved dramatically (although all stimuli were lying flat on a horizontal surface) but reverted to a previous (low) level when equivalence instructions were reintroduced. The results suggest that findings from equivalence tests cannot be used to make unambiguous inferences concerning the competence of young children to make identification judgements.

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