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Children's understanding of ambiguous figures: Which cognitive developments are necessary to experience reversal?

Doherty, Martin J.; Wimmer, Marina C.

Authors

Martin J. Doherty



Abstract

In two experiments involving one hundred and thirty-eight 3- to 5-year-olds we examined the claim that a complex understanding of ambiguity is required to experience reversal of ambiguous stimuli [Gopnik, A., & Rosati, A. (2001). Duck or rabbit? Reversing ambiguous figures and understanding ambiguous representations. Developmental Science, 4, 175–183]. In Experiment 1 a novel Production task measured the ability to acknowledge both interpretations of ambiguous figures. This was as easy as and significantly correlated with a False Belief task, and easier than a Droodle task. We replicated this finding in Experiment 2, and also found that perceiving reversal of ambiguous figures was harder than either the False Belief or Production tasks. In contrast to previous findings, the Reversal and Droodle tasks were not specifically related. We conclude that children only attempt reversal once they can understand the representational relationship between the figure and its two interpretations. The process resulting in reversal however is hard, probably requiring additional developments in executive functioning and imagery abilities.

Citation

Doherty, M. J., & Wimmer, M. C. (2005). Children's understanding of ambiguous figures: Which cognitive developments are necessary to experience reversal?. Cognitive Development, 20(3), 407-421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2005.05.003

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Jun 14, 2005
Publication Date 2005-07
Deposit Date May 11, 2020
Journal Cognitive Development
Print ISSN 0885-2014
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 20
Issue 3
Pages 407-421
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2005.05.003
Keywords Ambiguous figures; Theory of mind; Ambiguity; Executive function; Visual imagery
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2657063