Decomposing and connecting object representations in 5‐ to 9‐year‐old children's drawing behaviour

Abstract

This study aimed at specifying the content of the representational redescription (RR) process assumed by with respect to the emergence of inter‐representational flexibility in children's drawing behaviour. We hypothesized that the RR process included part‐whole decomposition processes that are essential to the ability to produce cross‐categorical drawings. We presented 5‐ to 9‐year‐old children with either a two‐part (TP) or a several‐part (SP) decomposition task involving a house and a man (experimental conditions) or with no such decomposition task (control condition), prior to a connection task (drawing a man‐house). The results showed that connection performances were better in children who had previously decomposed the objects into two parts than in children assigned to the control group. This positive ‘priming’ effect was attributed to the activation of part‐whole analysis processes that further facilitated the management of complex connections between the objects.