Do children's maps differ for younger and older friends?

Children can communicate spatial information with maps. This study investigated whether children alter their maps to fit user characteristics. Sixty children from kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th grades used street maps to direct an older of younger friend to their house. When they chose a route from pairs of alternatives, children from all grades were more likely to select more complicated, though shorter, routes for the older friend than for the younger one. When task conditions required children to draw their own maps, only 4th graders produced maps that varied in ways that appeared to complement the age of the intended user.