The Role of Cognitive Flexibility in the Spatial Representation of Children's Drawings

Representing the spatial appearance of objects and scenes in drawings is a difficult task for young children in particular. In the present study, the relationship between spatial drawing and cognitive flexibility was investigated. Seven- to 11-year-olds (N = 60) were asked to copy a three-dimensional model in a drawing. The use of depth cues as an indicator of spatial drawing was examined. Furthermore, cognitive flexibility was assessed by three measures: the Wisconsin Card-Sorting Test 64 (reactive flexibility), the Five-Point Test (spontaneous flexibility), and omission/inclusion (representational flexibility). The results revealed significant relationships between all measures of flexibility and the depth cues in children's drawings. However, only spontaneous and representational flexibility turned out to be significant predictors of the spatial drawing score. The results are discussed in light of the specific requirements of spatial representations in drawings.