Moving targets: the effect of animation on identification of action word representations.

This study examined the conditions under which action representations - presented in both static and dynamic formats - were most readily identified. Preschoolers without disabilities selected graphics corresponding to a spoken word from a computerized four-choice array. Although pre-tests confirmed that the children had all of the stimulus words in their lexical repertoires, their demonstration of that knowledge when the stimuli were presented in graphical form was less robust. The children were generally more challenged by the static representations than the dynamic ones, and their performances were most accurate with the most realistic dynamic representations. A developmental effect was noted, as children's symbol identification became more accurate across the range of representational forms as they got older.