# REPRESENTATIONAL FUNCTIONING IN YOUNG CHILDREN

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · 1994 · $124,821

## Abstract

The goal of the proposed research is to investigate very young
children's understanding of two different symbols-scale models and
pictures. The proposed studies will investigate further three concepts
that emerged from the previous research as important factors in early
symbolic functioning: (1) representational insight-- the awareness that
a symbol stands for something other than itself; (2) representational
specificity-a symbolic relation in which the symbol stands for a
specific (as opposed to generic) referent; and (3) dual representation-
thinking about or representing a single reality in two different ways at
the same time.

The proposed experiments are organized into three categories. (1) Non-
spatial Models. This series of studies will examine 2- and 3-year-old
children's understanding of a variety of different types of models. The
specific focus is children's ability to understand that various symbolic
objects stand for something specific and to use that correspondence in
learning and memory tasks. (2) Spatial (scale) Models). A second series
of studies will further explore the parameters of young children's
understanding of scale models. Some of the studies in this section will
examine the effects of other types of symbolic experience (pretense,
picturebook interactions) on children's understanding the models. (3)
Pictures. The final series of studies concerns the emergence of
understanding the representational function of pictures.

The proposed research should enhance our knowledge of the early
development of symbolization, especially the development of the very
important ability to learn or acquire new information via a symbolic
medium. The research will have both important theoretical and practical
implications.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2199479
- **Project number:** 5R01HD025271-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
- **SAM.gov UEI:** Y8CWNJRCNN91
- **Principal Investigator:** Judy S DeLoache
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1994
- **Award amount:** $124,821
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1988-12-01 → 1994-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2199479

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2199479, REPRESENTATIONAL FUNCTIONING IN YOUNG CHILDREN (5R01HD025271-06). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2199479. Licensed CC0.

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