The development of representational insight: beyond the model/room paradigm

Two experiments were conducted to determine whether very young children have difficulty with dual representations when change in perspective has been eliminated, that is, the task no longer requires transfer between a traversable and surveyable array. In a preliminary experiment children 30 and 36 months of age attempted to transfer an action observed with one of four tools associated with a child-size workbench to a miniature replica of that workbench or vice versa. Children at both ages exhibited limited success on both transfer and memory trials; the demands of selecting a tool and transferring the appropriate imitative response were hypothesized to exceed their processing capacity. A second experiment using an object-retrieval procedure involving the two workbenches revealed successful transfer by 36-month-olds, but not 30-month-olds. The results confirm that limitations in dual representation extend to contexts other than the room and model of the room paradigm where spatial perspective differs. The results are discussed in terms of procedures that support or interfere with children’s ability to demonstrate symbolic insight.