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Head and shoulders, knees and toes: Which parts of the body are necessary to be seen?
Author(s) -
McGuigan Nicola,
Doherty Martin J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1348/026151005x66837
Subject(s) - visibility , psychology , shoulders , perception , observer (physics) , cognitive psychology , head (geology) , neuroscience , medicine , geography , physics , surgery , quantum mechanics , geomorphology , geology , meteorology
Children aged 2 and 3 years were tested for a previously neglected form of knowledge about visual perception; namely, whether an observer can see a figure that is partially occluded. The results indicate that for children of this age the visibility of a figure's face is crucial for judging visibility, whereas the visibility of the legs is not. This phenomenon is limited to human‐like figures. Results are explained in terms of engagement, a precursor to a mature understanding of attention.