On the Acquisition of Front, Back, and Side

KUczAJ, STAN A., II, and MARATSOS, MICHAEL P. On the Acquisition of Front, Back, and Side. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1975, 46, 202-210. Using a variety of tasks to assess children's understanding of front, back, and side, we found the following. Children appear to acquire the notion that front and back are opposites before they acquire a general understanding of either term, leading to an apparently simultaneous general acquisition of their use. Correct use of the terms begins with reference to the self and then spreads to objects with fronts. Side is acquired well after front and back, being understood in reference both to the self and to other fronted objects. At this time, the ability to extend knowledge of front and back to novel machines also appears. Correct understanding of the terms when they refer to nonfronted objects appears last.