本研究の目的は,積み木の配置課題を通して三次元の方向知覚がどのように発達してくるのかを,標準刺激の配置方法や提示方法を検討する中で明らかにしようとするものであった。このため幼稚園年少組,年中組,年長組,小学1年生,小学2年生,小学3年生,小学4年生の各24名,合計168名の被験者を,標準刺激の配置方法や提示方法の違いにより,前方配置知覚群,右方配置知覚群,前方配置記憶群,右方配置記憶群の4群に分け検査を行った。検査は積み木2個,又は3個をそれぞれ上下方向,左右方向,前後方向に配置し,標準刺激と同じものを作らせる構成課題12問,同じ配置のカードを選ぶ選択課題12問をすべての群の被験者に対して,それぞれの実験手続に従って行った。この結果から次のことが明らかになった。 1)三次元の方向知覚の発達順序は,まず上下軸,左右軸,前後軸が分化し、ついで上下軸内の上と下,左右軸内の右と左,前後軸内の前と後がそれぞれ分化してくる。 2)上下軸,左右軸,前後軸の中では,特に垂直上下方向が水平左右方向や水平前後方向より早くから分化し,正確に認知される。誤りの分析を通じても,上下方向は他の二方向軸とは混同されていない事が明らかになった。この傾向は構成課題,選択課題ともに認められたが,選択課題の方がより顕著であった。 3)標準刺激を右方向に提示すると,左右方向の課題に対する正答率が低くなり,誤りの頻度も多くなることが認められる。前後方回の課題に対する正答率は,標準刺激を前方向に提示した場合でも右方向に提示した場合でも,有意な差は認められなかった。しかし特に知覚条件下での誤りの方向を分析してみると,標準刺激を前方向に提示した場合には,前後に関しては対称的な誤り,いわゆる鏡像的誤りが出現し,右方向に提示すると左右に関する鏡像的な誤りが出現したのである。

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of perception of three-dimensional direction, that is, up-down, right-left and front-back, by using the tasks of block-building. The following conditions were used. 1) FM: The standard stimulus was displayed in front of subject and after being instructed to remember the location of objects (two or three objects were included) in the stimulus, he had to reconstruct the same arrangement as the standard stimulus, or selecting the card identical with it. 2) FP: The conditions were almost identical except that the subject's response was carried out under the standard stimulus. 3) RM: This condition was identical with the FM except that the standard stimulus was on the right side of the subject. 4) RP: The situation was almost the same as that of the FP except that the standard stimulus was shown on the right side of the subject. The subjects were 72 kindergarten-children, age: 3, 4 and 5; 96 elementary school children, age: 6, 7, 8, and 9. They were divided into the above 4 groups of 6 children having the same age. Each was taken at random under the conditions of the experiments. Results obtained were as follows; 1) The three principal dimensions of direction, namely, up-down, right-left and front-back, were differenciated. Then up and down, right and left, and front and back each dimension being discriminated respectively. 2) Children performed more accurately the tasks of up-down dimension than the other tasks. This tendency appeared more remarkably in the choice tasks than in the construction tasks. 3) As to the tasks of right-left dimension of direction, children under the RM and RP conditions made more mistakes than those under the FM and FP conditions. This tendency was not observed for the tasks of front-back dimension of direction. 4) Error responses to each dimension frequently occurred under FP and RP conditions. Children under FP conditions mistook "front" for "back", and those under RP conditions "right" for "left". These phenomena were considered to be those of mirror script.