Examined developmental change and stability of visual expectation and reaction times among 5-, 7-, and 12-month-old term and preterm infants. Found that reaction times declined with age while anticipations increased. Infants with faster reaction times were more likely to anticipate upcoming events; this effect disappeared when time between stimuli…

A sample of 107 subjects including kindergarteners, fifth graders, high school sophomores, parents of kindergarteners, and master artists were presented with a 108-item color perception test to investigate surface color perception at these age levels. A set of surface color perception rules was generated. (GO)

Evaluates preschoolers' ability to distinguish left-right mirror-images of objects on a memory task and ability to name rows of objects on a page in a consistent lateral direction. Abilities were assessed first without specific instructions on the relevance of left-right information and then with instructions. (Author/AS)

Results of a study indicated that, as age increased from seven to 20 years, reaction time decreased, with males having a more rapid reaction time than females. Beginning at age 10 or 11, subjects developed better motor plans and relied less on rapid reaction time to achieve good anticipation time. (FG)

Three experiments with observers aged 6 to 21 years of age examined the integration of shape information over successive glances. Results indicated age-related improvements in the sequential integration of shape information, both when integration occurs through successive glimpses over space and when information is separated only in time. (HOD)

Kindergartners and second, fourth, and sixth graders were shown a series of pictures that depicted an object with increasing completeness and were asked to identify the object. Found that, with increasing age, children correctly identified the object earlier in the sequence and that reaction time was longest for second graders. (BC)

Trained 1- to 3-year-olds to touch a video screen displaying a unique target and appearing among varying numbers of distracters; correct responses triggered a sound and four animated objects on the screen. Found that children's reaction time patterns resembled those from adults in corresponding search tasks, suggesting that basic perceptual…

Infants' visual fixations were monitored while they viewed predictable and unpredictable sequences of stimuli. Analyses of anticipatory fixations indicated that by two months of age, infants form expectations for the reappearance of visual stimuli positioned opposite to each other. By three months, infants rapidly form expectations for asymmetric…

Two experiments used Visual Expectations Procedure to investigate development of expectations in infants up to 12 months old. Reaction time improved and the percentage of anticipations increased between 6 and 9 months using an alternation pattern or a complex pivot pattern, and between 4 and 8 months when using a left-right alternation or a…

Three experiments obtained same-different judgments from children and adults to trace normal development of local and global processing of hierarchical visual forms. Findings indicated that reaction time was faster on global trials than local trials; bias was stronger in children and diminished to adult levels between ages 10 and 14. Reaction time…

Children and adults were tested on six speeded perceptual-motor and cognitive tasks, including a (1) response time task; (2) button tapping task; (3) pegboard task; (4) coding task; (5) picture matching task; and (6) mental addition task. Age-related change in processing time on most of these tasks was described by a single exponential function.…

Discusses changes occurring in two-, four-, and six-month-old infants' visual attention span, through a series of experiments examining their ability to orient to peripheral visual stimuli. The results obtained were consistent with the hypothesis that infants get faster with age in shifting attention to a spatial location. (AA)

Performance of 162 children, ages five to seven, on concept formation and perception tests indicated that enforced delay in responding minimally affected all reflective subjects and impulsive boys; impulsive girls improved. (Available in microfiche from: Carfax Publishing Company, Haddon House, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxford 0X9 8JZ, England.) (CP)