Development of Geocentric Spatial Language and

Cognition

An Eco-cultural Perspective

Pierre R. Dasen

Université de Genève

and Ramesh C. Mishra

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

Cambridge Studies in Cognitive and Perceptual Development, 12

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Egocentric spatial language uses coordinates in relation to our body to talk

about small-scale space (‘put the knife on the right of the plate and the fork on

the left'), while geocentric spatial language uses geographic coordinates (‘put

the knife to the east, and the fork to the west'). How do children learn to use

geocentric language? And why do geocentric spatial references sound strange in

English when they are standard practice in other languages? This book studies

child development in Bali, India, Nepal, and Switzerland and explores how

children learn to use a geocentric frame both when speaking and performing

non-verbal cognitive tasks (such as remembering locations and directions). The

authors examine how these skills develop with age, look at the socio-cultural

contexts in which the learning takes place, and explore the ecological, cultural,

social, and linguistic conditions that favor the use of a geocentric frame of

reference.

Contents

Part I. Introduction and Methods: 1. Theory and research questions; 2. Methods; 3. Settings;

Part II. Results: 4. Pilot study in Bali and first study (India and Nepal, 1999–2000); 5.

Returning to Bali: main study 2002–2007; 6. Varanasi; 7. Kathmandu; 8. Panditpur; 9.

Geneva; Part III. Additional Studies: 10. Spatial language addressed to children; 11.

Geocentric gestures before language?; 12. Spatial organization schemes; 13.

Neurophysiological correlates of geocentric space; 14. Geocentric dead reckoning; Part IV.

Conclusions: 15. Discussion and conclusions; Appendix 1. Summary of instructions,

questionnaires, and coding schemes; Appendix 2. Examples of language in each location;

Appendix 3. Extracts from school manuals.

Hardback 978-0-521-19105-0

Original price £60.00

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In North America: US$ 99

Order Dept. • Cambridge University Press • 100 Brook Hill Drive • West Nyack, NY 10994

Toll Free (800) 872-7423 / Fax: (845) 353-4141 / http://cambridge.org/us/psychology

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Available from January 2013 as paperback (ISBN-13: 9781107412484)

http://www.cambridge.org/fr/knowledge/isbn/item6026605/Development%20of%20Geocentric%20Spatial%20Language%20and%20Cognition/?site_locale=fr_FR

Also New Delhi: Cambridge University Press India (978-0-107-00833-5)

http://www.cambridgeindia.org/showbookdetails.asp?ISBN=9781107008335

Reviews:

Gustav Jahoda (Strathclyde Univ., Glasgow):

http://metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=book&id=5964&cn=396

Camille Brisset (Univ. Laval, Quebec):

http://journal.psy.ulaval.ca/ojs/index.php/ARIRI/article/view/Brisset_Alterstice1%281%29/pdf_1

Narayanan Srinivasan (Allahabad Univ., India):

Psychological Studies, June 2011, Volume 56, Issue 2, pp 245-246

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