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A factor analytic study of children’s picture interpretation behavior

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Abstract

Many questions about picture interpretation behavior remain to be answered One question relates to the psychological nature of such behavior and may be stated; What psychological processes are involved in drawing inferences from pictures? This study attempts to answer the question using a model of picture interpretation that consists of two interdependent forms of behavior: observation and inference drawing. The study focuses on the latter, which is further divided into productive and evaluative processes. These are accounted for by three constructs: operational facility, the ability to generalize concepts, and conceptual fluency. To test the model and related hypotheses, two pictorial tests of inference drawing and 19 reference tests were administered to 95 children aged 10 to 12 years, A factor analytic methodology was employed.

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The author acknowledges with gratitude the advice of D. Spearritt and R. Debus, both of the University of Sydney, in connection with the design and execution of this study.

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Higgins, L.C. A factor analytic study of children’s picture interpretation behavior. ECTJ 26, 215–232 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02766606

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