Stimulus Rotation and Visual Scanning in 5S with Copying Disability 1,2

Rotation of squares increases copying difficulty for young children and brain-damaged adults. Explanations stress both perceptual and cognitive factors. Records of visual scanning were used as an index of attention to areas of the stimulus field. Perceptual explanations were translated into scanning terms. The degree to which scanning is consistent with expectations inferred from perceptual theories was examined. Scanning of squares, rotated and unrotated, was compared for 7 normals and 7 adults with impaired copying ability. Variables were attention to contour, enclosed form, and ground. Conclusions were that: (a) normals scan rotated and unrotated squares similarly; (b) impaired Ss’ scanning of rotated squares is different from normal scanning and from their own scanning of unrotated squares; (c) the differences found do not follow theoretical expectation.