Grade 3 urban and rural Shona children (N = 258) were tested for pictorial depth interpretation (PDI) and pictorial space comprehension (PSC). Procedures commonly adopted for pictorial depth tests elicited significantly lower PSC scores than facilitating procedures designed for the group. Outline drawings likewise elicited less PSC (and PDI) than the photographs and line-and-tone drawings. Pictorial space comprehension was more than doubled when optimum materials and procedures were combined. Perceptual training raised PDI and PSC scores significantly, the latter among urban girls in particular. Predictions that cultural factors would result in higher scores from boys and urban children were supported in the case of PSC; PDI as the lower-level skill was more universally available and consequently less affected.
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