Table 1.
Performance for each item in experiment 1. We give the description of each item, together with the classification in terms of cues needed to identify the correct response. In the last three columns, we list the responses on which children tended to converge (Chi-square against chance for each response), the accuracy (chance is 16.7%), and the significance of the overall distribution compared to a uniform distribution (Chi-square, Bonferroni-corrected for multiple comparisons).
| Item | Title | Category | Frequent Response(s) | Accuracy | P-value (item) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Training | |||||
| 1 | Color | Color | 4 (***) | 89.6 | 0.0000 |
| 2 | Orientation | Orientation | 3 (***) | 87.5 | 0.0000 |
| Topology | |||||
| 3 | Inside | Topology | 1 (***) | 75.6 | 0.0000 |
| 4 | Closure | Topology | 2 (***) | 40.4 | 0.0066 |
| 5 | Connexity | Topology | 5 (***) | 42.6 | 0.0042 |
| 6 | Holes | Topology | 4 (***) | 41.7 | 0.0045 |
| Euclidian Geometry | |||||
| 7 | Straight Line | Alignment | 2 (***) | 76.1 | 0.0000 |
| 8 | Curve | Alignment | 3 (**); 5 (**) | 33.3 | 0.0023 |
| 9 | On a Line | Alignment | 4 (***) | 72.3 | 0.0000 |
| 10 | Alignement | Alignment | 1 (***) | 59.6 | 0.0000 |
| 11 | Parallel Lines | Parallelism | 6 (***) | 24.4 | 0.0000 |
| 12 | Secant Lines | Parallelism | 5 (***) | 60.4 | 0.0000 |
| 13 | Right angle, Cross | Angle | 6 (***) | 59.6 | 0.0000 |
| 14 | Right angle, T | Angle | 5 (***) | 43.8 | 0.0010 |
| Geometrical Figures | |||||
| 15a | Quadrilateral | Unclassified | 2 (**) | 22.7 | 1.0000 |
| 16 | Trapezoid | Parallelism | 3 (***) | 45.7 | 0.0007 |
| 17 | Parallelogram | Parallelism | 2 (**) | 31.9 | 1.0000 |
| 18 | Rectangle | Angle | 3 (***) | 62.5 | 0.0000 |
| 19 | Square | Length/Distance | 3 (***); 4 (**) | 31.9 | 0.0000 |
| 20 | Equilateral Triangle | Length/Distance, Angle | 3 (***) | 34.8 | 0.3311 |
| 21 | Right-angled Triangle | Angle | 5 (***) | 43.5 | 0.0008 |
| 22 | Circle | Length/Distance | 2 (***) ; 3 (**) | 61.7 | 0.0000 |
| 23 | Convex Shape | Topology | 5 (***) | 72.3 | 0.0000 |
| Symmetrical Figures | |||||
| 24a | Vertical Axis | Symmetry | ns | 19.0 | 1.0000 |
| 25a | Horizontal Axis | Symmetry | 2 (***) | 4.8 | 0.0467 |
| 26 | Oblique Axis | Symmetry | 5 (**) ; 2 (*) | 31.9 | 0.0131 |
| Chiral Figures | |||||
| 27 | Chiral Figure, Stable Orientation (1) | Sense | 2 (***) | 56.5 | 0.0000 |
| 28 | Chiral Figure, Stable Orientation (2) | Sense | 3 (***) | 72.3 | 0.0000 |
| 29a | Chiral Figure, Variable Orientation (1) | Sense | ns | 9.5 | 1.0000 |
| 30a | Chiral Figure, Variable Orientation (2) | Sense | 2 (***) | 4.5 | 0.2855 |
| Metric Properties | |||||
| 31 | Distance | Length/Distance | 6 (***) | 48.9 | 0.0000 |
| 32 | Equidistance | Length/Distance | 6 (***) | 36.2 | 0.2295 |
| 33 | Increasing Distance | Length/Distance | 3 (***) | 43.5 | 0.0018 |
| 34 | Center of Circle | Length/Distance | 1 (***) | 69.6 | 0.0000 |
| 35a | Center of Quadrilateral | Alignment | ns | 14.3 | 1.0000 |
| 36a | Middle of Segment | Length/Distance | 5 (***) | 18.2 | 0.0350 |
| 37 | Fixed Proportion | Length/Distance | 3 (**); 4 (**) | 34.0 | 0.0034 |
| Geometrical Transformations | |||||
| 38 | Translation | Sense | 2 (*); 6 (*) | 29.8 | 0.0865 |
| 39 | Homothecy (Fixed Orientation) | Sense | 6 (***) | 34.8 | 0.8679 |
| 40a | Homothecy (Fixed Ratio) | Length/Distance | 5 (**) | 14.3 | 1.0000 |
| 41 | Horizontal Symmetry | Sense | 2 (**) | 31.9 | 1.0000 |
| 42a | Vertical Symmetry | Sense | 2 (***) | 10.0 | 0.3080 |
| 43a | Oblique Symmetry | Sense | 3 (*) | 30.0 | 1.0000 |
| 44a | Point Symmetry | Sense | 5 (**) | 28.6 | 0.3269 |
| 45a | Rotation | Sense | 2 (*) | 4.5 | 1.0000 |
a
p<0.1
*
p<0.05
**
p<0.01
***
p<0.001.