Right-Left Orientation: Development of Correct Use of Right and Left Terms

Rigal, Robert

doi:10.2466/pms.1994.79.3.1259

Cited by 113 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…These findings also do not reveal whether consistent spatial language and its resulting cognitive benefits can be acquired in adulthood. In typically developing children, acquiring either a spoken or signed language, spatial language is usually mastered after the age of four, later than many other aspects of language (36,37). A previous study with Nicaraguan signers reported that first-cohort signers' late acquisition of words like "think" and "know" predicted their subsequent theory-of-mind development in adulthood (38).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence from an emerging sign language reveals that language supports spatial cognition

Pyers

Shusterman

Senghas

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

154

104

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Although spatial language and spatial cognition covary over development and across languages, determining the causal direction of this relationship presents a challenge. Here we show that mature human spatial cognition depends on the acquisition of specific aspects of spatial language. We tested two cohorts of deaf signers who acquired an emerging sign language in Nicaragua at the same age but during different time periods: the first cohort of signers acquired the language in its infancy, and 10 y later the second cohort of signers acquired the language in a more complex form. We found that the second-cohort signers, now in their 20s, used more consistent spatial language than the first-cohort signers, now in their 30s. Correspondingly, they outperformed the first cohort in spatially guided searches, both when they were disoriented and when an array was rotated. Consistent linguistic marking of left-right relations correlated with search performance under disorientation, whereas consistent marking of ground information correlated with search in rotated arrays. Human spatial cognition therefore is modulated by the acquisition of a rich language.spatial language | language and thought | Nicaraguan Sign Language

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence from an emerging sign language reveals that language supports spatial cognition

Pyers

Shusterman

Senghas

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

154

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Second, the relevant linguistic spatial relational constructions may be expected to be learned later by children. Again, the evidence suggests that this is correct: Children in cultures where absolute coding is predominant seem to master this system as early as 4 and certainly by 7 years of age (18,23,38), whereas children in relative-coding cultures do not seem to master full use of the left͞right systems until Ϸ11 years of age (24,37).…”

Section: Part 2: Phylogenetic Inheritancementioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive cladistics and cultural override in Hominid spatial cognition

Haun

Rapold

Call

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

180

148

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Current approaches to human cognition often take a strong nativist stance based on Western adult performance, backed up where possible by neonate and infant research and almost never by comparative research across the Hominidae. Recent research suggests considerable cross-cultural differences in cognitive strategies, including relational thinking, a domain where infant research is impossible because of lack of cognitive maturation. Here, we apply the same paradigm across children and adults of different cultures and across all nonhuman great ape genera. We find that both child and adult spatial cognition systematically varies with language and culture but that, nevertheless, there is a clear inherited bias for one spatial strategy in the great apes. It is reasonable to conclude, we argue, that language and culture mask the native tendencies in our species. This cladistic approach suggests that the correct perspective on human cognition is neither nativist uniformitarian nor ''blank slate'' but recognizes the powerful impact that language and culture can have on our shared primate cognitive biases. cognitive evolution ͉ cultural differences ͉ great apes

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“…We started at 9 years old because younger children do not yet possess a fully mature knowledge of the words and concepts "left" and "right" (Rigal, 1994), which is a prerequisite for the task we used. We used the same task design as Gevers et al (2010, experiment 4), of which a graphical illustration is provided in Figure 1.…”

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confidence: 99%