Abstract
Children’s perceptual learning of cartoon faces varying in facial features and orientations were investigated. After familiarization with the concept of “same-different,” 54 children aged 4 to 6 years were given a pretest series of faces in a delayed matching task. Children in the experimental groups were then given attention training on one or more feature sets (eyes, noses, mouths), after which all children were given a posttest series. Results showed that training and age of subjects strongly affected children’s matching responses in both pretest and posttest. Children given attention training on all features showed the greatest improvement in performance. Additionally, some transformations of forms were more difficult to match than others. Results were interpreted mainly to support cognitive-perceptual formulations of Bryant (1974) and Gibson (1969).
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Brooks, R. M., & Goldstein, A. G. Recognition by children of inverted photographs of faces. Child Development, 1963, 34, 1033–1040.
Bryant, P. E. Perception and memory of the orientation of visually presented lines by children. Nature, 1969, 224, 1131–1132.
Bryant, P.E. What the young child has to learn about logic. In R. A. Hinde & J. S. Hinde (Eds.), Constraints on learning. London: Academic Press, 1973.
Bryant, P.E. Perception and understanding in young children: An experimental approach. New York: Basic Books, 1974.
Fraisse, P., & Elkin, E. H. Étude genetique de l’influence des modes de présentation sur le seuil de reconnaisance d’objets familiars. L’Année Physiologique, 1963, 63, 1–12.
Gibson, E. J. Principles of perceptual learning and development. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1969.
Hendrickson, L. N., & Muehl, S. The effect of attention and motor response pretraining on learning to discriminate b and d in kindergarten children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1962, 53, 236–241.
Murray, F. S., & Lee, T. S. The effects of attention-directing old children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1977, 23, 430–441.
Murray, F. S., & McGuinn, P. K. Discrimination of features and orientations of schematic faces by children. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 1977, 10, 283–286.
Over, R., & Over, J. Detection and recognition of mirror-image obliques by young children. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1967, 64, 467–470.
Rock, I. The perception of disoriented figures. Scientific American, 1974, 230, 78–85.
Rudel, R. G., & Teuber, H. L. Discrimination of direction of line in children. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1963, 56, 892–898.
Ryan, T. A., & Schwartz, C. B. Speed of perception as a function of mode of representation. American Journal of Psychology, 1956, 69, 60–69.
Schaller, M. J., & Harris, L. Children judge “perspective” transformations of letterlike forms as different from prototypes. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1974, 18, 226–241.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This article was presented at the Tenth Annual Meeting of The Classification Society (North American Branch), April 10, 1979, at Gainesville, Florida. The authors would like to express their appreciation of the assistance and cooperation provided to them by the teachers of Villa Maria Academy, First Presbyterian Weekday School of Lynchburg, Virginia, and the Westminster Child Care Center of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Murray, F.S., Stanley, R.L. Perceptual learning of cartoon faces by young children. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 16, 367–370 (1980). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329567
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329567