The Early Construction of Spatial Attention: Culture,Space, and Gesture in Parent–Child Interactions |
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| Authors: | Koleen McCrink Christina Caldera Samuel Shaki |
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| Institution: | 1. Columbia University;2. Ariel University of Samaria |
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| Abstract: | American and Israeli toddler–caregiver dyads (mean age of toddler = 26 months) were presented with naturalistic tasks in which they must watch a short video (N = 97) or concoct a visual story together (N = 66). English‐speaking American caregivers were more likely to use left to right spatial structuring than right to left, especially for well‐ordered letters and numbers. Hebrew‐speaking Israeli parents were more likely than Americans to use right to left spatial structuring, especially for letters. When constructing a pictorial narrative for their children, Americans were more likely to place pictures from left to right than Israelis. These spatial structure biases exhibited by caregivers are a potential route for the development of spatial biases in early childhood, before children have developed automatic reading and writing habits. |
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