The ability to individuate objects is one of our most fundamental cognitive
capacities. Recent research has revealed that, when objects vary in color or luminance
alone, infants fail to individuate until 11.5 months. However, color and luminance
frequently co-vary in the natural environment, and color and luminance interact in
pattern detection, motion detection, and stereopsis. For this reason, we propose that
infants may be more likely to individuate when objects vary in both color and
luminance.
Using the narrow-screen task of Wilcox and Baillargeon, Experiments 1 and 2
assessed 7.5-month-old infants’ ability to individuate uniformly colored objects that
either varied in both color and luminance or varied in luminance alone. The results
indicated that infants used these features to individuate only when the objects varied in
both color and luminance. Thus, when color and luminance co-varied, infants used these
features to individuate objects a full 4 months earlier than infants use either feature
alone. Experiment 3 further explored the link between color and luminance by assessing
7.5-month-old infants’ ability to use pattern differences to individuate objects. Although
infants use pattern differences created from a combination of luminance and color
contrast by 7.5 months, results from Experiment 3 indicated that when pattern was
created from either color contrast or luminance contrast alone, infants fail to individuate
based on pattern. The results of Experiment 3 suggest that it is not the number of feature
dimensions that is important, but the unique contribution of both color and luminance
that is particularly salient to infants. These studies add to a growing body of literature
investigating the interaction of color and luminance in object processing in infants, and
have implications for developmental changes in the nature and content of infants’ object
representations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1858 |
| Date | 02 June 2009 |
| Creators | Woods, Rebecca Jindalee |
| Contributors | Wilcox, Teresa, G. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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