Abstract
Spatial cognition refers to the process through which people acquire knowledge of the location of objects in their surrounding environment. Studies suggest that people use different spatial frames of reference to describe the location of objects in space. The present study examines the frames of reference used by 10–15-year-old students attending Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu medium schools at Varanasi in performing spatial cognitive tasks. Traditional schools, such as Sanskrit and Urdu medium schools, provide substantial experience and training in the use of a geocentric frame of reference based on cardinal directions (i.e., north, south, east and west). In view of this, it was expected that children attending these schools would use a geocentric frame of reference more than those attending Hindi medium school. Using a variety of procedures, the spatial frames of reference used in description and encoding of objects by students in Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu medium schools were assessed. The results indicated that traditional Sanskrit and Urdu medium school students used more geocentric language for description of spatial objects and they also engaged in greater geocentric encoding of those objects than the students of Hindi medium schools.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acredolo, L. P. (1990). Behavioral approaches to spatial orientation ininfancy. In A. Diamond (Ed.), The development and neural bases ofhighercorticalfunction (pp. 596–612). New York: The New York Academy of Science.
Berry, J. W. (1983). Textured contexts: Systems and situations in cross-cultural psychology. In S. H. Irvine & J. W. Berry (Eds.), Human assessment and cultural factors (pp. 117–126). New York: Plenum Press.
Bowerman, M. (1993). The origins of children’s spatial semantic categories: Cognitive versus linguistic determinants. In J. J. Gumperz & S. C. Levinson (Eds.), Rethinking linguistic relativity (pp. 7–15). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Bremner, G. (1989). Development of spatial awareness in infacy. In A. Slater & G. Bremner (Eds.), Infants development (pp. 123–141). Hove: Lawrence Erbaum.
Clark, H. (1973). Space, time, semantics and the child. In T. E. Moore (Ed.), Cognitive development and the acquisition of language (pp. 27–63). New York: Academic Press.
Cottereau-Reiss, P. (1999). Kanak space or how not to get lost. Annales Fyssen, 14(1), 34–45.
Cottereau-Reiss, P. (2001). Langages d espace l exemple kanak. In C. Sabatier & P. R. Dasen (Eds.), Cultures, developpement et education: autres, enfants, autres ecoles (pp. 159–168). Paris: L Hartmann.
Dasen, P. R., & Mishra, R. C. (2010). Development of geocentric spatial language and cognition: An eco-cultural perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dasen, P. R., & Mishra, R. C. (2013). Cultural differences in cognitive styles. In B. R. Kar (Ed.), Cognition and brain development: Converging evidences from various methodologies (pp. 232–249). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
Dasen, P. R., Mishra, R. C., Niraula, S., & Wassmann, J. (2006). Développement du language et de la cognition spatial géocentrique. Enfance, 58(2), 146–158.
Gumperz, J. J., & Levinson, S. C. (1996). Rethinking linguistic relativity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hatwell, Y. (1990). The development of spatial concepts from Piaget to information processing theories. In G. Netchine-Grynberg (Ed.), Cognitive development and functioning in children (pp. 53–69). Paris: PUF.
Jha, R.K., & Mishra, R.C. (2017). Spatial cognition and perspective taking in children in different types of school. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychology, Banaras Hindu University.
Kirk, R. (1982). Experimental design: Procedures for the behavioral sciences. Belmont, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Kumar, N. (2000). Lessons from schools. The history of education in Banaras. New Delhi: SAGE Publications.
Levinson, S. C. (1996). Frames of reference and Molyneux’s question: Cross-linguistic evidence. In P. Bloom, M. Peterson, L. Nadel, & M. Garrett (Eds.), Language and space (pp. 109–169). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Levinson, S. C. (2003). Space in language and cognition: Explorations in cognitive diversity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Levinson, S. C., Kita, S., Haun, B. M., & Rasch, B. H. (2002). Returning the tables: Language affects spatial reasoning. Cognition, 84(2), 155–188.
Li, P., & Gleitman, L. (2002). Turning the tables: Language and spatial reasoning. Cognition, 8(3), 265–294.
Miller, G., & Johnson-Laird, P. (1976). Language and perception. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mishra, R. C. (1988). Learning strategies among children in modern and traditional schools. Indian Psychologist, 5(1), 17–24.
Mishra, R. C. (1997). Cognition and cognitive development. In J. W. Berry, P. R. Dasen, & T. S. Saraswathi (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 143–176). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Mishra, R. C. (2014). Effects of Sanskrit schooling on cognitive and social processes. Psychology and Developing Societies, 26(1), 1–26.
Mishra, R. C., & Dasen, P. R. (2004). The influence of schooling on cognitive development: A review of research in India. In B. N. Setiadi, A. Supratiknya, W. J. Lonner, & Y. H. Poortinga (Eds.), Ongoing themes in psychology and culture (pp. 207–222). Yogjakarta: Kanisius.
Mishra, R. C., & Dasen, P. R. (2005). Spatial language and cognitive development in India: An urban/rural comparison. In W. Friedlmiere, P. Chakkarath, & B. Schwarz (Eds.), Culture and human development: The importance of cross-cultural research to the social sciences (pp. 153–178). New York: Psychology Press.
Mishra, R. C., & Dasen, P. R. (2013). Development of spatial language and cognition in Hindi- and Sanskrit-medium schools. Psychological Studies, 58(4), 446–455.
Mishra, R. C., Dasen, P. R., & Niraula, S. (2003). Ecology, language, and performance on spatial cognitive tasks. International Journal of Psychology, 38(6), 366–383.
Mishra, R. C., Singh, S., & Dasen, P. R. (2009). Geocentric dead reckoning in Sanskrit and Hindi medium school children. Culture & Psychology, 15(3), 386–408.
Mishra, R. C., & Vajpayee, A. (2008). Sanskrit schools in India. In P. R. Dasen & A. Akkari (Eds.), Educational theories and practices from the majority world (pp. 245–267). New Delhi: SAGE Publications.
Newcombe, N. S., & Huttenlocher, J. (2000). Making space: The development of spatial representation and reasoning. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Niraula, S., & Mishra, R. C. (2001). Spatial orientation of the Newar children in Nepal. Social Science International, 17(1), 38–48.
Niraula, S., Mishra, R. C., & Dasen, P. R. (2004). Linguistic relativity and spatial concept development in Nepal. Psychology and Developing Societies, 17(1), 99–113.
Pederson, E. (1995). Language as context, language as means: Spatial cognition and habitual language use. Cognitive Linguistics, 6(1), 33–62.
Pederson, E., Danziger, E., Wilkins, D., Levinson, S., Kita, S., & Senft, G. (1998). Semantic typology and spatial conceptualization. Language, 74(3), 557–589.
Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1956). The child’s conception of space. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Rogoff, B. (1981). Schooling and development of cognitive skills. In H. C. Triandis & A. Heron (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 233–294). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Senft, G. (2001). Frames of spatial reference in Kilivila. Studies in Language, 25(3), 521–555.
Spencer, C., & Darvizeh, Z. (1983). Young children’s place descriptions, maps and route findings: A comparison of nursery school children in Iran and Britain. International Journal of Early Childhood, 15(1), 26–31.
Taylor, H. A., & Tversky, B. (1996). Perspective in spatial description. Journal of Memory and Language, 35(4), 371–391.
Tulviste, P. (1991). The cultural historical development of verbal thinking. New York: Nova Science.
Vajpayee, A., Dasen, P. R., & Mishra, R. C. (2008). Spatial encoding: A comparison of Sanskrit- and Hindi-medium schools. In N. Srinivasan, A. K. Gupta, & J. Pandey (Eds.), Advances in cognitive science (pp. 255–265). New Delhi: SAGE Publications.
Wassmann, J., & Dasen, P. R. (1998). Balinese spatial orientation: Some empirical evidence for moderate linguistic relativity. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Incorporating Man, 4(4), 689–711.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mishra, R.C., Jha, R.K. Effect of Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu medium schooling on spatial language and encoding. J Cult Cogn Sci 2, 9–20 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41809-018-0014-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41809-018-0014-x