The relations among navigation, object analysis, and magnitude perception in children: Evidence for a network of Euclidean geometry

What is the relation between navigation and object analysis? Although researchers agree that such systems are, to some extent, dissociable, open questions remain about the potential interactions between them. Using an individual differences approach with young children (4-year-olds; N = 90), we examined the novel proposal that navigation and object analysis interact indirectly by way of magnitude perception. A system for magnitude perception may be ideally suited to support such interactions because it is present from early in development and is capable of discriminating geometric properties on the basis of spatial extent. Across two experiments, we tested for relations between children’s ability to reorient within an environment, analyze the geometric properties of object forms, and discriminate area. We found that area precision was correlated with both reorientation ability and geometric form analysis, though reorientation and form analysis did not correlate with one another. Importantly, we also found that the precision of children’s area discrimination supported an indirect link between their reorientation ability in a physical environment and visual analysis of object forms. Together, these results suggest a network for representing Euclidean geometry that includes both direct and indirect relations among navigation, object analysis, and magnitude perception. The potential role of magnitude perception within such a network is discussed.