The locative terms in front of and behind express a position in relation to the front and back of a reference object (RO) (see e.g. Clark 1973, Kuczaj & Maratsos 1975). If the RO has an intrinsic front and back (featured RO, e.g. a car), in front of is associated with the front and behind with the back (intrinsic interpretation). If the RO lacks an intrinsic front and back (non-featured RO, e.g. a ball), an egocentric interpretation is triggered. In front of is either associated with the side facing the observer (asymmetrical egocentric interpretation), or with the far side (symmetrical egocentric interpretation), while behind is associated with the side opposite to in front of. The present study investigates how featured and non-featured ROs affect Swedish children’s and adults’ understanding of framför ‘in front of’ and bakom ‘behind’.
In one experiment, children and adults were asked to place a small object (e.g. a piece of Lego) in front of and behind an RO. In a second experiment, children and adults were asked to judge whether a small object was placed in front of and behind an RO. Subjects were 44 Swedish adults and 41 Swedish children (2-5 years old), grouped into ‘young children’ (2-3 years) and ‘old children’ (4-5 years). Subjects were allotted to featured and non-featured ROs. All subjects heard 8 targets; children also heard 8 controls of simple spatial relations (in and on) and yes- and no-answers.
Main results show that adults prefer an intrinsic interpretation with featured ROs, significantly more often than both child groups. Both child groups show a large proportion of egocentric interpretation, younger children displaying a slight preference for the asymmetrical and older children for the symmetrical. This pattern is reinforced with non-featured ROs, where younger children prefer the asymmetrical significantly more often than older children and adults.
The results are discussed in relation to previous research and to theoretical notions such as image schemas (e.g. Johnson 1987) and perspective (e.g. Langacker 1987).