Children's Distance Estimates in a Large-Scale Environment

Abstract

School children of the second grade, fourth grade, and sixth grade were tested to examine the effects of route angularity, the number of turns encountered along a path, on their time and distance estimates. In three experiments, children walked between two locations separated by different path turns and then estimated walk duration and walking distance. In Experiment 1, one path contained two turns, and the other path contained no turns; in Experiment 2, one path contained four turns, and the other path contained one turn; and in Experiment 3, one path contained eight turns, and the other path contained two turns. Distance estimates did not differ signif icantly for paths containing numerous turns relative to paths containing fewer turns (or no turns). Time estimates differed significantly only in Experiment 1, with duration estimated as greater for the path with no turns. It was concluded that the route angularity effect may not be a robust phenomenon and that future research examining this effect must be conducted under conditions in which the events encountered along a path are strictly controlled.