Testing Pollack's hypothesis that decreases in effective contour contrast (resulting from a decrease in receptor sensitivity with age or from a change in actual stimulus contrast) lead to decreases in illusion magnitude. Conclusions are questioned by Sjostrom and Pollack (PS 501 740). (Author/MB)

In a study of oddity performance, subjects were required to choose one distinct bimodal stimulus from a display that included other stimuli that did not differ from each other. Oddity performance was evaluated with both reversal assessments and assessments with new stimuli. The usefulness of bimodal training in oddity learning was demonstrated.…

A report is presented which relates to a general hypothesis suggested by previous data on visual response to faces that in the first weeks of life infants develop expectations regarding the human face. Three predictions were made: (1) Silent human faces would elicit less direct regard than faces accompanied by voices; (2) A familiar face would…

Six separate experiments were undertaken to test the hypothesis that poor readers in first, second, and third grade would have more difficulty with simple perceptual discriminations than would good readers in the same grades. Various tasks were used in the experiments, including discrimination of line orientations, checking letters in three-letter…

Examines 3-month-old infants' perception of "camouflaged" forms that were only visible when moving. Shows infants effectively use kinetic information to organize visual input in higher-order structures. (HOD)

Examines the effectiveness of Frostig-Horne and Kephart-Getman techniques and materials in developing the perceptual and motor skills of young children. (TO)

This study describes and compares visual encoding processes and copying performance of normal children and children with perceptual and neurological disabilities viewing the Bender-Gestalt designs. Designs of the neurologically impaired children were significantly different from those of either of the other two diagnostic groups. (Author)

Examined the visual scanning patterns of infants ages 6, 10, and 13 weeks who viewed static geometric figures. Measures of fixation dwell-times, saccade lengths, and the choices and sequences of saccadic targets revealed that, although younger infants demonstrated salience-guided scanning behavior, older infants increasingly utilized volitional…

Goals and challenges pertaining to infant sensory and perceptual development are discussed. It is suggested that the inability of researchers to think and talk wisely about "partial accomplishments" in development creates a barrier in developmental research. Conceptual schemes are needed to accommodate these partial accomplishments. Three major…

In order to make letter shape recognition an integral part of perception training, the use of the line in its two basic shapes is proposed. Letter shapes may seem exceedingly complex linear shapes to young minds. Thus instead of instruction in configuration, instruction involving transformational activities to manipulate and create the…

This paper reports on an experiment designed to collect data on children's perception and use of semantic attributes. Forty-five children ranging in age from 2 years 8 months to 6 years were given a picture test involving judgment of similarities between objects. The test consisted of 47 groups of pictures; each group contained a stimulus or a…

Investigates ability of nine-month-old infants to imitate simple actions with novel objects. Looks at both immediate and deferred imitation. Findings show that imitation in early infancy can span wide enough delays to be of potential service in social development. (Author/RWB)

Reviews the research literature on the abilities of infants to categorize visual information on dot patterns; schematic faces; hue; and orientation. (HOD)