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As children grow older they show an increasing preference for classifying objects on the basis of shape rather than color. To clarify the nature of this "dimension preference," children of ages 3 1/2 to 6 1/2 years were given a method of triads test of dimension preferences, followed (after a week's delay) by a component selection task. The most notable results were these: (1) Children below and above the median age differed in frequency of shape preference; (2) For children below the median age, higher component selection test scores were observed for the preferred dimension; and (3) No age difference was found in the relative magnitudes of the component selection scores. The results suggest that a "preference" for a particular dimension does not necessarily indicate a high degree of selective attention to that dimension. Also, the age difference in children's dimension preferences may be attributable to factors unrelated to selective attention. (Author)

To investigate two measures which have been used to assess children's attention to stimulus dimensions, component selection, and dimension preference, both measures were administered to 38 3 1/2 to 5-year-olds and 20 5- to 6 1/2-year-olds. Seven to ten days after the dimension preference task was given. the component selection measure was administered using the stimuli of the dimension preference task. Results indicate: (1) a developmental increase in the proportion of judgments made on the basis of form rather than color on the dimension preference measure, (2) no significant difference in the performance of the two age groups on the component selection task, and (3) within the younger group, a significant relation between component selection and dimension preference performance, with subjects showing higher component selection scores on their preferred dimension. The effect of experimental context on the child's deployment of attention is discussed. (Author/SET)