Piecing Together the Puzzle of Pictorial Representation: How Jigsaw Puzzles Index Metacognitive Development. Issue 1 (29th July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Doherty, Martin J.; Wimmer, Marina C.; Gollek, Cornelia; Stone, Charlotte; Robinson, Elizabeth J.
• Is Part Of: Child development. Volume 92:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 205
• Page End: 221
• Publication Date: 2020-07-29
• Subjects: Child development -- Periodicals; Child psychology -- Periodicals; Child Development -- Periodicals; Child Development; Pediatrics -- Periodicals; Pedicatrics; 305.231
• DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13391
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-3920

Abstract

Abstract : Jigsaw puzzles are ubiquitous developmental toys in Western societies, used here to examine the development of metarepresentation. For jigsaw puzzles this entails understanding that individual pieces, when assembled, produce a picture. In Experiment 1, 3‐ to 5‐year‐olds ( N = 117) completed jigsaw puzzles that were normal, had no picture, or comprised noninterlocking rectangular pieces. Pictorial puzzle completion was associated with mental and graphical metarepresentational task performance. Guide pictures of completed pictorial puzzles were not useful. In Experiment 2, 3‐ to 4‐year‐olds ( N = 52) completed a simplified task, to choose the correct final piece. Guide‐use associated with age and specifically graphical metarepresentation performance. We conclude that the pragmatically natural measure of jigsaw puzzle completion ability demonstrates general and pictorial metarepresentational development at 4 years.