Five-month-old infants were habituated to three types of visually presented rigid motion, with duration of fixation as the dependent measure. After reaching a criterion of habituation, a fourth rigid motion (not habituated) and a deformation were presented. (Author/SS)

Four experiments utilizing the familiarization-novelty preference procedure examined whether 3- and 4-month-olds could form categorical representations for cats versus dogs from the perceptual information available in silhouettes. Findings indicated that general shape or external contour information centered about the head was sufficient for…

In this study examining infants' responses to optical expansion, 18 infants between 36 and 61 days old watched expanding shadows that differed in the terminal location of the center of expansion and the number of dimensions undergoing change. Babies consistently rotated their heads upward during expansion of a closed figure when the center of…

The relationship between visual stimulus intensity and directional finger movements was examined in infants of two age groups (16 infants, 10 to 15 weeks old, and 8 infants, 20 to 25 weeks old). Two hypotheses derived from Schneirla's Approach-Withdrawal Theory were examined: (1) that responses of the younger, but not of the older infants, would…

Author claims that Piaget's account of the construction of reality needs modification and a shift in emphasis. (Author/MB)

Results of this study of 72 4-month-old infants suggest caution in using an overt demonstration of habituation as a necessary index of perceptual learning. (Author/MG)

One- and two-month-old infants were shown schematic drawings of a human face with features arranged (1) naturally, (2) symmetrically but scrambled, and (3) asymmetrically and scrambled. Two-month-olds discriminated among all arangements and preferred the natural arrangement; one-month-olds showed no discrimination or preference. (Author/DB)

Investigates the responsiveness of 14- and 20-week-old infants to binocular information using a stereoscopic shadow caster showing an object approaching on a collision course. (Author/SS)

Three experiments investigated four-month-old infants' capacity to perceive bimodally specified events by detecting the temporal synchrony of sound bursts with the visable impacts of surfaces. (Author/SS)

Used a habituation-dishabituation procedure to test ability of 4-, 5-, and 7-month-olds to differentiate between a subjective ellipse and a nonsubjective pattern that were constructed by displacing the inducing elements of the illusory figure. Found that even 4-month-olds discriminated between the subjective ellipse and nonillusory display. This…

Research supported by U.S. Public Health Service Grant MH-6415.

This paper deals with research on the development of infants' ability to perceive invariant features of things and the relation of objects to both the spatial layout of the infants' environment and to themselves. Basic assumptions regarding the perception of invariance are discussed and a theoretical view of the role of motion in the development…

Results showed that 2- and 3-dimensional forms affected 4- and 8-week-old infant visual behavior differently. (Author/JMB)