Investigates infants' scanning of two compound stimuli by presenting features (either squares or faces) inside a frame, the frame alone, and features alone. The apparent disappearance of external bias at about 21 months appears to apply to the scanning of only some compound figures. For schematic face figures, no external bias was found.…

A number of hypotheses about infants' delayed search accuracy have been based upon the notion that a location associated with repeated retrieval of an object attains privileged status. However, a test of performance in 12- and 15-month-old infants showed them to be indifferent to location. (Author/RH)

Examined the conditions under which infants employ (1) spatial codes respondent to objects central to their visual field and (2) spatial codes respondent to objects peripheral to their visual field. (DB)

Two normal and two mentally retarded children were trained to earn pennies by pressing a key according to a multiple variable-interval extinction schedule of reinforcement. Retarded children differed from normal children by producing more positive than negative discriminative stimuli. (Author/DB)

Prior studies found individual differences in visual recognition memory during infancy were related to individual differences in later intelligence. This paper discusses methodological issues in the measurement of infant visual recognition, the significance of previously obtained predictive validity coefficients, and the theoretical question of…

Presents results of two experiments which measured contrast sensitivity function in infants. Information concerning development of visual acuity, low frequency attenuation, and sensitivity to contrast were collected. Results provide an approximate picture of and means for detection of infants' pattern information. (Author/DB)

Uses the habituation paradigm to investigate 3-month-old infants' abilities to recognize and discriminate among the faces of strangers. Infants consistently discriminated between photographs of faces following extensive exposure to one, and recognized something about the face they saw during habituation. Results suggest that similarity influences…

In Experiment I, 24 preschoolers were tested on left-right, vertical-horizontal, and mirror-image oblique discriminations under essentially context-free conditions. Experiment II contrasted children's performance under context-free conditions with their ability to discriminate orientation in the presence of external visual cues. (RH)

This study investigated whether object-picture discrepancy occurs because preschool children regard pictures as significates rather than as signifiers. Results indicated the children did not consistently respond to objects and their pictorial representations equivalently. (Author/DB)

Longitudinal data gathered on 24 children at 51 months of age and at earlier ages suggest that children currently characterized as faster habituators, in terms of first fixation data, may be somewhat advanced cognitively compared to slower habituators. (Author/DB)

Small graphic changes made in normal letters of the alphabet changed the similarity relations among those letters. Children and adults classified letters of this distinctive font faster and with fewer errors than they did normal letters. Relations between letters in the stimulus set determined how difficult any particular letter was to classify.…

Data from 31 college students attending a remedial arithmetic course at a community college was gathered to study the relationships between arithmetic disability, visual motor, and visual figure ground abilities in college students. (PHR)

Describes a study of the visual discrimination abilities of children who varied in their ability to recognize words. Indicates that visual discrimination skills of the type needed to discriminate between single artificial graphemes do not seem essential for the word recognition aspect of reading. (TJ)

The ability of young infants between the ages of 8 and 17 weeks to perceive outline shapes was investigated in nine experiments using an habituation paradigm. (JMB)