RECENTLY MUCH ATTENTION HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON THE SUBJECT OF CONCEPT FORMATION IN CHILDREN. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPATIAL PERCEPTION IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS, AND ONE IMPORTANT PART OF SPATIAL PERCEPTION IS HAPTIC PERCEPTION--THE RECOGNITION OF OBJECTS BY TOUCH. THIS STUDY IS A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF THE RETENTION OF HAPTIC ABILITIES DEVELOPED IN THE COURSE OF A 3-MONTH TRAINING EXPERIMENT, REPORTED IN ED 010 126. THE FINAL TEST OF THAT STUDY WAS USED AS THE PRETEST FOR THE LONGITUDINAL STUDY. TESTS WERE GIVEN TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE EARLIER STUDY 6 MONTHS AND 12 MONTHS AFTER ITS COMPLETION. OF THE 144 SUBJECTS OF THE EARLIER STUDY, 131 COMPLETED RETESTING. THE AGES OF THESE SUBJECTS RANGED, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EARLIER STUDY, FROM 36 TO 71 MONTHS. THE SUBJECTS CAME FROM MONTESSORI AND NON-MONTESSORI PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS AND HAD BEEN DIVIDED INTO EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS WHICH RECEIVED EITHER INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP INSTRUCTION. FIVE TESTS OF HAPTIC PERCEPTION WERE USED. IN EACH TEST THE SUBJECT HANDLED PLYWOOD FORMS THROUGH AN OPENING IN A SCREEN AND WAS THEN ASKED TO DO SUCH THINGS AS NAME THE OBJECT, DESCRIBE IT, OR DRAW IT. ANALYSES IN WHICH THE PRETEST SCORES WERE CONTROLLED INDICATED THAT RETENTION WAS NOT STRONGLY AFFECTED BY THE TYPE OF PRESCHOOL, THE TYPE OF INSTRUCTION, CHRONOLOGICAL OR MENTAL AGE, OR SEX. EXAMINATION OF THE SCORES OVER THE 12-MONTH PERIOD SHOWED THAT ALTHOUGH THE EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS SCORED CONSISTENTLY HIGHER, THE CONTROL SUBJECTS HAD HIGHER CHANGE SCORES. THIS SEEMS TO HAVE RESULTED FROM A LOSS OF PROFICIENCY IN HAPTIC ABILITIES BY THE EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS, COUPLED WITH SOME DEVELOPMENT OF HAPTIC ABILITIES BY THE CONTROL GROUP AS A RESULT OF MATURATION. (DR)