Duck or rabbit? Reversing ambiguous figures and understanding ambiguous representations

In two studies we investigated 3- to 5-year-old children's ability to reverse ambiguous figures and the relation between this ability and the ability to understand multiple representations. Children never reversed before they were informed of the two alternative interpretations of the figures. Even when they were informed of the alternatives and understood that both were possible, 3-year-olds and most 4-year-olds did not reverse. In contrast, a majority of 5-year-olds did reverse. In general, children only reversed if they also passed a standard false belief task. However, there was a closer correlation between reversals and a 'droodle' task that involved an understanding of the ambiguity of perceptual representations. These results suggest that the immediate experience of reversal may depend on a more abstract understanding of ambiguous representations.