From the results of this pilot study it was suggested that intellectual abilities of epileptic children as measured by the verbal WISC and visual perception as measured by the Frostig are both influenced by the same contingencies. (Author)

Examined acuity thresholds for 1- and 2-month-old infants by presenting square wave gratings in a preference paradigm at four viewing distances. (Author/JMB)

Six experiments assessed 4- to 8-month-old infants' reactions to probable and improbable orientation positions following invisible transformations from an original orientation. Availability of orientation cues, objects' path of motion, and amount of invisible spatial transformation were varied. Results indicated that infants as young as 4 months…

Four studies explored preschoolers' understanding of thought bubbles depicted in cartoons. Few three- and four-year olds knew what a thought-bubble depiction was without instruction, but if simply told that the thought bubble "shows what someone is thinking," the majority easily understood the devices as depicting thoughts generally and…

Assessed 14-week-olds' attention to green or red target objects moving in a field of distracting objects that varied in color. Found that infants' detection of green moving targets was masked in the presence of mixed red and green objects. Masking was not observed for red targets or for green targets in a field of green objects. (BC)

Preschoolers placed stickers on maps to show locations of objects currently in view. Vantage point (eye-level versus raised), map form (plan versus oblique), and item type (floor versus furniture location) were varied. Results showed that using an oblique map first aided subsequent performance on a plan map. Subjects performed worse on floor…

Reviews research about a profound misconception among college students: the belief that the process of vision includes emanations from their ideas. Documents the strength and breadth of this phenomenon and the failure of traditional educational techniques to overcome this belief. Asserts that students are leaving psychology courses with flawed…

The Feature Integration Theory of visual search proposed by A. M. Treisman and others (1980, 1986) is reviewed, and a modified Guided Search theory is presented in which the parallel stage guides the serial stage as it chooses display elements to process. A computer simulation illustrates the theory. (SLD)

Results indicated that habituated 20-week-olds showed evidence of color constancy, but habituated 9-week-olds did not. The younger subjects responded with increased attention to simulated changes either of the illuminant or of surface reflectance, whereas older subjects responded with increased attention only to simulated changes of surface…

Investigated the assumption that different aspects of visual selectivity depend on common processing resources by engaging observers aged 5, 7, 9, and 24 years in a task designed to examine the relations between covert shifts of attention and filtering. Covert orienting and filtering shared processing resources; filtering ability improved with…

Discusses changes that are needed in the perceptual, cognitive, and aesthetic principles governing the medium of television to compensate for the high-quality, filmlike picture produced by high definition television (HDTV), or improved definition television (IDTV). Topics discussed include changes in visual perception, cognitive processes and…

Infants were habituated to reversible and nonreversible pictures of faces. The reversible picture depicted a different face when inverted 180 degrees. For the reversible picture, the infants devoted more visual attention to the inverted picture than to the original picture. (BC)

A study involving 90 children (50 preterm and 40 full-term) found continuity in visual recognition memory from early infancy (7 months) to later childhood (11 years), even when other measures of memory at 11 years were controlled. Implications for the study of other types of infant memory are discussed. (SLD)

Examined infants' categorization using object manipulation tasks that involved objects that were models of animals, vehicles, or furniture. Objects were normal, had anomalous moving parts (such as a dog with wheels), or had different textures. Found that 14- to 22-month olds attended to the parts and structural configuration of objects, but not to…

Two studies examined the hypothesis that children rely on name representations, often indexed by shape, in their semantic representations. Results suggest that, although shape plays an important role in children's early naming, other factors are also important, including the mental state of the picture's creator (whether intentional or not).…