Early Development of Visual Perspective-Taking: Its Associations with Stimuli Feature, Child Age, and Family Socio-Economic Status

Abstract

Visual perspective-taking (VPT) is a foundational skill for understanding the social world and emerges in early childhood. However, its developmental trajectory and associations with visual stimuli features and family socio-economic status (SES) remain underexplored. This study examined 254 preschool children aged 3 to 5 years (130 girls) using the “photographer task,” in which children identified the image representing a photographer’s view under varying stimuli conditions (complexity and angular differences). Primary caregivers provided demographic data via a questionnaire. Results indicated that children performed better with less complex stimuli and when the angular perspectives of the child and photographer aligned. Age differences were evident in most tasks, except those involving high complexity stimuli and conflicting angular perspectives. SES differences emerged, with high-SES children excelling in tasks without angular conflicts, while low-SES children demonstrated better performance in tasks with high complex stimuli with angular differences. These findings highlight the interplay between developmental, environmental, and task-specific factors in shaping early VPT and underscore the importance of tailoring early learning activities to account for these influences.