Adults use mental imagery ubiquitously in everyday life, for example: for visualising how a room would look with rearranged furniture or how to fit a car into a parking space. Little is known about how children's mental imagery develops and when children use mental imagery comparable to adults. Therefore the aim of the current research is to develop a proper account of the development of mental imagery. In four studies, this research examines how children ranging from 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12- and 14-years of age and adults: generate mental images (Study 1) maintain mental images (Study 2) scan mental images (Study 3) transform mental images (Study 4). Together, these studies will help us to understand how children visualise scenes, objects, or events in their mind and how this differs from adults in everyday-life. Once we know how and when mental imagery develops, the findings can be implemented in an educational setting to aid thinking and remembering on a day-to-day basis.

Experimental