Fitting objects into holes: On the development of spatial cognition skills.

2007/01/01 by Helena Örnkloo, Claes von Hofsten · 128 citations
Engineering · Mathematics · Psychology · #Aperture (computer memory) #Artificial intelligence #Block (permutation group theory) #Child and Animal Learning Development #Cognition #Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills #Cognitive development #Cognitive psychology #Computer science #Developmental psychology #Ellipsoid #Geodesy #Geography #Geometry #Mathematics #Mental rotation #Object (grammar) #Object permanence #Physics #Psychology #Spatial Cognition and Navigation #Spatial ability #Spatial cognition #Task (project management)

paper · open access · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.43.2.404

published in Developmental Psychology 43(2), 404-416 (American Psychological Association)

openalex publication_date 2007/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26

Abstract

The authors examined 14- to 26-month-old infants' understanding of the spatial relationships between objects and apertures in an object manipulation task. The task was to insert objects with various cross-sections (circular, square, rectangular, ellipsoid, and triangular) into fitting apertures. A successful solution required the infant to mentally rotate the object to be fit into the aperture and use that information to plan the action. The object was presented standing up in half of the trials; in the other half, it was lying down. The results showed that infants solved the problem consistently from age 22 months and that a successful solution was associated with appropriate preadjustments before the hand arrived with the block to the aperture. No sex differences were found.

Citations

• Scale Errors Offer Evidence for a Perception-Action Dissociation Early in Life
• The gender similarities hypothesis.
• Development of kinetic images: When does the child first represent movement in mental images?
• Antecedents of self-regulation: A developmental perspective.

Cited by

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• Performance of Motor Sequences in Children at Heightened vs. Low Risk for ASD: A Longitudinal Study from 18 to 36 Months of Age. [europepmc]
• The Development of Object Function and Manipulation Knowledge: Evidence from a Semantic Priming Study. [europepmc]
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• Kinematic characteristics of second-order motor planning and performance in 6- and 10-year-old children and adults: Effects of age and task constraints. [europepmc]
• Look before you fit: The real-time planning cascade in children and adults. [europepmc]
• From Fragments to Geometric Shape: Changes in Visual Object Recognition Between 18 and 24 Months. [europepmc]
• Hierarchical Development of Early Visual-Spatial Abilities - A Taxonomy Based Assessment Using the MaGrid App. [europepmc]
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• Object Exploration and Manipulation in Infants at Typical vs. Elevated Likelihood for ASD: A Review. [europepmc]
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