Two experiments studied whether and how 5-year-olds integrate single facial features to identify faces. Results indicated that children could evaluate and integrate information from eye and mouth features to identify a face when salience of features was varied. A weighted Fuzzy Logical Model of Perception fit better than a Single Channel Model,…

Reports on three experiments that investigated why young children's perceptions of bimodal speech are less influenced by the visual component of speech than adults' perceptions are. Results argue in favor of the explanation that children are poorer lipreaders than adults. (HOD)

Examined four- and nine-year olds' referential comprehension when given pointing gestures and spoken labels, in two types of contextually ambiguous situations. Results indicated that the speech modality had a far greater influence on word comprehension than gestures and that the influence of gestures was greater for the older children than for the…

In three amplitude discrimination experiments involving a backward masking task, children's rate of perceptual processing was compared to that of adults. Developmental differences in discrimination were compensated for by increases in the psychophysical difference between test tones. No developmental differences in rate of perceptual processing…

Investigates the relative influence of speech and pointing gesture information in the interpretation of referential acts among children averaging three and five years of age and adults. (HOD)