Adult observers are sensitive to the configuration of facial features within a face, able to distinguish between relative differences in feature spacing, and detecting deviations from typical facial appearance. How does the representation of the typical configuration of facial features develop? While there is a great deal of work describing…

Two experiments investigated children's tendencies to draw what they know rather than what they see. The first experiment looked at the way children, aged five to nine, and adults represent an object occluded by another object. Most subjects drew only what they could see. The second experiment investigated subjects' interpretation of pictures…

Previous literature on children's visual pattern perception has suggested that preschool children may process hierarchical forms in a manner different from that of older children and adults. Data from some studies suggested that children are holistic processors of pattern information, while other studies characterized children as piecemeal…

Draw-a-Person (DAP) samples from 108 adolescents and adults with mental retardation were scored using Naglieri's cognitive and emotional disturbance scoring systems. Visual-motor skills emerged as the best predictor of DAP cognitive scores, more predictive than intelligence. Findings suggest caution in using DAP as an index of intelligence or as a…