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The Development of Visual Expectations in the First Year
Author(s) -
Reznick J. Steven,
Chawarska Katarzyna,
Betts Stephanie
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8624.00223
Subject(s) - psychology , gaze , stimulus (psychology) , alternation (linguistics) , developmental psychology , child development , visual perception , cognitive psychology , perception , neuroscience , linguistics , philosophy , psychoanalysis
The development of expectations was investigated by using the Visual Expectations Procedure. In Experiment 1, 128 infants aged 6‐, 9‐, and 12‐months‐old saw two 40‐trial sequences of a videotaped mechanical toy appearing in various locations. The sequences represented an alternation pattern (i.e., ABAB) or a complex pivot pattern (i.e., ABCBABCB). In Experiment 2, 76 infants aged 4‐, 8‐, and 12‐months‐old saw either a left‐right alternation or a top‐bottom alternation. Reaction time improved and the percentage of anticipations increased between 6 and 9 months in Experiment 1 and between 4 and 8 months in Experiment 2 but not thereafter. Anticipations for the pivot sequence and for younger infants on both sequences were often incorrect (i.e., gaze shifts occurred before stimulus onset but were not directed toward the upcoming stimulus). We conclude that young infants have expectations that reflect some degree of general or procedural knowledge, but it is not clear that this behavior implies specific, articulated expectations about upcoming events.