The set of exercises, developed out of an earlier set called "Fragments," and used in conjunction with or separately from it, focuses on the deepening of visual and aural perception and response. The questions and experiences the exercises imply are valid for any age level. Within the two large categories of looking and listening, the exercises…

THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL MUSICAL SKILLS WERE STUDIED. THIS STUDY FOCUSED ON AURAL PERCEPTION AS AN INTEGRAL FACTOR IN THE CHILD'S MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT. TWO MAJOR ASPECTS OF THIS 5-YEAR STUDY INCLUDED (1) LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THREE GROUPS OF CHILDREN AND (2) A SERIES OF 1-YEAR PILOT STUDIES DEALING WITH RHYTHM, TIMBRE, AND…

This study investigated the possibility of a functional relation between the auditory and visual systems in the human newborn beyond reflexive organization. Visual activity was monitored in 16 newborns through the use of infrared corneal reflection video tape recording. Infants were observed in total darkness and while monocularly viewing a…

The study involving 200 kindergarteners was conducted to determine whether children taught specific auditory perception skills with the Phonic Readiness Set by teachers and sixth grade tutors would develop significantly better perception and reading skills than children taught with the usual curriculum, both with and without tutors. (SBH)

Compared head circumference and interaural distance in infants between birth and 22 weeks of age and in a small sample of preschool children and adults. Calculated changes in interaural time differences according to age. Found a large shift in distance. (SKC)

The author discusses the role of educational "crutches" that help elementary learning disabled children in tasks involving spatial orientation, visual perception, and auditory short-term memory. Teachers are cautioned to observe how children act in different situations and to allow them whatever "crutches" are effective. (CL)

Three studies investigated infants' and young children's perception of the unity of musical events. Results indicated that properties specific to musical instrument families are relevant for young children's perception of musical events. Specific experience with a variety of instruments is evidently not necessary for detecting correspondences of…

Infants who were in darkness were presented with objects that made sounds. Objects were within reach and out of reach. Infants reached into the target area more often when the object was in reach than when the object was beyond reach. Infants reached correctly in the dark for objects placed off midline. (BC)

Two experiments examined 8-month-olds' use of absolute and relative pitch cues in a tone-sequence statistical learning task. Results suggest that, given unsegmented stimuli that do not conform to rules of musical composition, infants are more likely to track patterns of absolute pitches than of relative pitches. A third experiment found that adult…

The experiments reported here investigated a developmental change in frequency generalization in the hatchling chicken. (Author)

As a child matures from infancy to early childhood, a shift occurs in his sensory hierarchy from tactile to auditory to visual. The transition between the predominance of the auditory sense and visual sense takes place in about grades four and five. Although the sensory systems do not function singularly (but are integrated in the total action…

This 115-page annotated bibliography contains material on perceptual motor development. The introductory portion of the bibliography presents general reading on perception, learning, and development. The first portion contains annotated works by six specific authors. The second portion presents works grouped under the following headings: a)…

The main purpose of this investigation was to study the relationships between visual memory and early reading achievement. Short term and intermediate memory were examined in relation to vocabulary, reading comprehension, and reading readiness in first grade pupils. The Gates MacGinitie Readiness Skills Test; the Visual Memory for Designs Tests,…

Reports on three experiments that investigated why young children's perceptions of bimodal speech are less influenced by the visual component of speech than adults' perceptions are. Results argue in favor of the explanation that children are poorer lipreaders than adults. (HOD)