On the Understanding of the Relationships between Speed, Duration, and Distance

ACREDOLO, CURT; ADAMS, ANNE; and SCHMID, JEANNINE. On the Understanding of the Relationships between Speed, Duration, and Distance. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1984, 55, 2151-2159. 90 firstthrough fifth-grade children were confronted with the task of determining which of 2 animals ran farther, faster, or for a longer amount of time solely on the information provided about the relations on the other 2 dimensions. The evidence supports the hypothesis that children grasp the direct relationships between speed and distance and between duration and distance before they grasp the indirect relationship between speed and duration, a finding which may represent a general principle of cognitive development. Although a majority of fourthand fifth-grade children appeared to understand the relationships between all possible pairs of the 3 dimensions, they did not appear to integrate these relationships spontaneously and thereby recognize problems involving ambiguous outcomes.