Development of Geocentric Spatial Language and Cognition: An Eco-cultural Perspective (Cambridge Studies in Cognitive and Perceptual Development, Series Number 12) - Softcover

Dasen, Pierre R.; Mishra, Ramesh C.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 110741248X ISBN 13: 9781107412484

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2013

Synopsis

Egocentric spatial language uses coordinates in relation to our body to talk about small-scale space (‘put the knife on the right of the plate and the fork on the left'), while geocentric spatial language uses geographic coordinates (‘put the knife to the east, and the fork to the west'). How do children learn to use geocentric language? And why do geocentric spatial references sound strange in English when they are standard practice in other languages? This book studies child development in Bali, India, Nepal, and Switzerland and explores how children learn to use a geocentric frame both when speaking and performing non-verbal cognitive tasks (such as remembering locations and directions). The authors examine how these skills develop with age, look at the socio-cultural contexts in which the learning takes place, and explore the ecological, cultural, social, and linguistic conditions that favour the use of a geocentric frame of reference.

About this title

Book Description

When talking about the location of objects inside a room, we can use small-scale egocentric directions (right and left) or large-scale geocentric ones (North, South, East and West). This book explores children's acquisition and use of spatial frames of reference in different cultural contexts, including Bali, India, Nepal, and Switzerland.

About the Author

Pierre R. Dasen is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology of Education and Cross-cultural Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Education of the University of Geneva.He studied developmental psychology in Geneva, was an assistant to J. Piaget, and received a PhD from the Australian National University. He studied the cognitive development of Aboriginal children in Australia, Inuit in Canada, Baoule in Cote d Ivoire, and Kikuyu in Kenya; he has also contributed to research in cognitive anthropology among the Yupno of Papua-New-Guinea, and in Bali. His research topics have included visual perception, the development of sensori-motor intelligence, the causes and effects of malnutrition, the development of concrete operations as a function of eco-cultural variables and daily activities, defi nitions of intelligence, number systems, and spatial orientation. He has also been concerned with intercultural education, and in particular with the access of illegal migrant adolescents to professional training. His main interests are in everyday cognition, informal education, and parental ethnotheories, and his current research in India, Nepal, and Indonesia is on spatial language and cognitive development.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 110741248X
• ISBN 13: 9781107412484
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 410