Pictorial Depth Perception by Children in Scotland and Ghana

Abstract

An experimental study of the development of pictorial depth perception, conducted in Scotland and Ghana, is reported. Subjects constructed three-dimensional models representing the size and spatial relationships between figures in pictorial scenes in which three depth cues-elevation, texture gradient, and linear perspective-were manipulated. For both samples size accuracy increased with the amount of depth information available; it also increased with age in the Scottish but not in the Ghanaian sample. Spatial accuracy increased with age in both samples, but was influenced by type of depth cue only in the Scottish sample. Scottish children were more accurate throughout than Ghanaian children. However, the evidence reported does not support the view that African children are grossly deficient in perceiving pictorial depth.