THE REPRESENTATION OF OCCLUSION AND SOLID FIGURES IN YOUNG CHILDREN'S DRAWINGS

Two experiments were conducted to examine whether preschool children could draw the faces of a cylinder and an occluded roof with visual realism. In Experiment 1, 64 5-and 6-year-old children were instructed to draw one or two faces of a cylinder or a cube just as it looked. All subjects drew one face of a cube correctly, but many 5-year-olds drew one or two faces of a cylinder with intellectual realism. There were effects of verbal instructions and colors. In Experiment 2, the same subjects were instructed to draw the front or sides of two roofs or walls just as they looked. The farther object was separate, partially occuluded, or totally occluded. Many 5-year-olds drew separation correctly, but they also drew vertical separation when presented partial occlusion or total occlusion. Many 6-year-olds could draw with visual realism. There were effects of objects and colors. All subjects reconstructed partial occlusion, which suggested total separation being specific to two dimensional reactions. The subjects who drew partial or total occlusion also drew two faces of a cylinder correctly. They were considered to have metacognition of task demands.