Competence in action perception seems to be achieved very early in life. Because research has indicated that competent perceivers of action must be able to discriminate breakpoints in behavior, then recognition memory for breakpoints should be superior to that for nonbreakpoints at all ages where competence in action perception exists. Two studies of the development of action perception were conducted concurrently with adults (N=16) and children ages five (N=17), eight (N=16), and ten (N=16). Subjects were tested for recognition memory using slides of breakpoints and nonbreakpoints, and were asked to judge the ordering of triads of breakpoints and nonbreakpoints presented in correct and incorrect order. Recognition accuracy for breakpoints was superior to that for nonbreakpoints at all age levels, suggesting that at least by the age of five, children's perception of behavior is not fundamentally different from that of adults. The examination of children's ability to use breakpoint information, independent of their ability to select breakpoints from ongoing behavior, revealed that although overall breakpoint triads were judged more accurately than nonbreakpoint triads, kindergarteners differed from older subjects in the manner in which they made their judgments. (Author/NRB)