Developmental Changes in the Understanding of Pictorial Representations of Sound

Two studies investigating the development of decoding skills within the pictorial symbol system are presented. Although sound cannot be perceived visually, pictorial representations can suggest sound. In this study, young children's understanding of pictures representing sound production was examined with two tasks: One group labeled pictures as either showing sound or not; the other group chose which of a pair of pictures showed sound. Pictures varied as to the extent the representations were designed to be analogous to actual sound production in the environment. It was found that different types of pictorial representation of sound were not equivalent in their ability to evoke a correct interpretation. Three-, 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old children all understood the pictures that depicted postures associated with sound production in the environment. Pictures that relied on conventional or arbitrary representations of sound, such as lines radiating from a mouth, were less well understood by the younger children. Over the preschool years, however, there was substantial improvement in children's skill at interpreting these pictures.